Those who had attended the last Carmen From the Quebec Opera in 2018 will undoubtedly have a main couple in French to French more than forms of French, not to mention the stuck treble of the tenor singing Don José.
The Jean-François Lapointe era was fortunately synonymous with real respect for the language of Molière, with almost entirely French-speaking distributions. Even if the baritone abandoned the rudder of the institution last winter, we still fortunately taste the fruits of its flair in terms of singers. But also scenic craftsmen.
This Carmen indeed marked the return after two years of the Italian director Nicola Berloffa, who then gave us a Lucie the lambermoor Highly poetic with the now late Soprano Jodie Devos.
PHOTHOULING RINDING, ILALL
The Louis-Fréchette room of the Grand Théâtre during the premiere of the Opera CarmenWednesday evening
The common points between the two productions are obvious, although the manager of the scenography, Michele Taborelli, was not of the previous adventure: same taste for misty atmospheres and oblique lighting (graciousness of Valerio Tiberi), for a certain minimalism and for sober costumes but well matched to the whole.
With Berloffa, we are in a way in the land of Spaghetti westerns, which is not incongruous when we know that they have in fact often been shot in the deserts of Andalusia. Railway rails and telegraph wires are lost in the smoky horizon in divergent diagonals. This is the main anchoring.
We will find in the second act the Lillas shop Pastia Saloon way, and huge white sails suspended from electric wires to the following act, evocation of the camp of the Interlope band. It is poetic in devil. And it proves that we can do a lot with little. Including act.
Only strangeness: this immense canvas appearing a car circulating on a mountain road which descends in front of the scene during the love duo of Don José and Micaëla (first act), but also of the duo of (dice) final love, which ends a little the opera in fish tail, where we would have expected the canvas to get up so that the crowd is witnessing the sordid assassin.
Image taken from a video, provided by the Quebec Opera
Stéphanie d’Oustrac, who embodies Carmen in production
The other major “find” of the evening is the presence of Breton Stéphanie d’Oustrac in the title role, which she will sing at the Paris Opera and the Milan Scala in 2026!
As soon as she entered, where she lights up a cigarette by directing the pistol of a fuel pump towards the brigadiers, we know that we are dealing with an extraordinary vocal personality. What also jumps into the eyes is the disturbing resemblance to the voice of Marie-Nicole Lemieux: same color, same total vocal incarnation where each word finds a singular color in accordance with the meaning of the text. We thus easily pass over the tremolo which manifests occasionally in the treble.
PHOTHOULING RINDING, ILALL
The interpreter of Don José, Christophe Berry, surrounded by young actors
In the clothes of his lover of passing Don José, we are entitled to the tenor Christophe Berry, already back after his Manrico (from the Find) last May. Again, the treble is impressive with ease and power, but some more mixed impressions are confirmed, the inconstancy of the performance (Berry takes at least one act each time before being really in voice), the lack of direction in the sentences and – this being related to this – the disappointing incarnation of the character. You don’t feel in Don José a man of flesh and blood ready to commit the irreparable.
The baritone Christophe Gay, brilliant Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet Two years ago, at the Sex appeal in Escamillo, but not the serious. The young Soprano Lerperivoise Carole-Anne Roussel camped for a moving Micaëla, even if the voice can gain roundness.
Among the secondary roles, all held by young Quebec singers, particularly stand out the Dancaïre du Baryton Geoffroy Salvas and the Court but colorful Lillas Pastia (spoke role) of the Robert bariton.
Jacques Lacombe directs the Quebec Symphony Orchestra in a alert and elegant way. A little more risk -taking, well -balanced madness would have hoisted its even higher performance.
A show to see therefore, in particular for the production of Nicola Berloffa and the Carmen in Technicolor by Stéphanie d’Oustrac.
Carmen At the Quebec Opera Festival, this 1is August, 7:30 p.m., and August 3, 2 p.m.
Consult the show page
