Carmen Review: Enjoyably powerful production opens Glyndebourne Festival

Glyndebourne Opera is celebrating the 90th anniversary of its festival and, as always, productions at this glorious opera house near Lewes in East Sussex always include a long interval of around 90 minutes during which we may enjoy a picnic on its spacious lawns.

Bizet's Carmen is perhaps the most popular and most performed of all operas, which makes it quite a challenge. Directors always want to bring something new to their productions, but they should not be tempted to stray too far from the original. In that respect, US director Diane Paulus has struck a perfect balance.

With the action moved away from 19th century Seville to an unidentified but distinctly more modern and militaristic state, we meet Carmen as a confident, feisty woman working, as usual, in a cigarette factory, this time sternly guarded by soldiers. After being involved in a fight, she is arrested, but escapes, thanks to the soldier Don Jose who has fallen for her seductive charms.

She joins friend Lillas Pastas, whose tavern in the original opera has become a sleazy nightclub and whose companions, instead of being mere smugglers, are now smuggling refugees across a border. Don Jose tracks her down hoping she will still love him, but she quickly transfers her attentions to the bullfighter, Escamillo, which totally deranges Don Jose.

The general increase in energy of this production is beautifully matched by the performance of the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Robin Ticciati, who starts by taking the overture slightly faster than usual, bringing an enhanced sense of urgency. With delicate control of pace and volume throughout, Bizet's wonderfully tuneful music is given the prominence it deserves.

The singing of Tunisian-Canadian Rihab Chaieb in the title role is superb. The courageous independence she bring to the part gives the production rare power.

With a gloriously powerful voice and impressive acting ability, Rihab Chaieb is the real star of the show, while  the Ukrainian tenor Dmytro Popov was a little disappointing as Don Jose. His voice was excellent but his acting failed to make the character convincing. Don Jose is, in any case, a weak character, unable to cope with the demands he faces, but his transformation from hapless victim to murderous ex-lover needs a more convincing portrayal.

Russian bass-baritone Dmitry Cheblykov has the most appropriate physique I have ever seen as the bullfighter Escamillo, but this was not matched by his singing, which was adequate but lacked the strength to match his muscles.

Three of the minor roles, however, saw excellent performances. The rich voice of British baritone Alex Otterburn impressed as Captain Morales, while Russian soprano Sofia Fomina was perfect as Don Jose's innocent childhood sweetheart Micaёla. Canadian soprano Elisabeth Boudreault made a stunning Glyndebourne debut as the gypsy girl Frasquita, with some gloriously joyous gestures and a delightfully huge voice that was most impressive from such a small frame.

On the whole, an excellent and most enjoyable start to Glyndebourne's 90th anniversary year.

Carmen is playing at Glyndebourne until 17 June and returns with some cast changes from 1-24 August. Box Office: glyndebourne.com or 01273 815 000

A semi-staged version of this production can also be seen at the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall on Thursday 29 August. For details, see bbc.co.uk/proms.