US Edition 
Carmen, Glyndebourne, review: 'extraordinarily good musical performances'
In a production featuring more mantillas than you can shake a banderilla at, the casting here is superb, says John Allison
David McVicar's super-naturalistic production of Carmen has served Glyndebourne well since it was first seen in 2002, but it has surely never enjoyed such a balanced and evenly-matched cast. Bizet's conception of the toreador Escamillo, for instance, is something that few opera houses today seem able to equal: they find a baritone with either the top notes or the lower register, but here David Soar supplies both and sings with dashing restraint. It's quite refreshing to encounter an Escamillo like this.
A little more restraint would have helped Stéphanie d'Oustrac's Carmen in the opening scenes. All too willing to follow the hyperactive production (revived here by Marie Lambert), this gypsy starts off as not only a man-eater but a scenery-chewer. Yet there is no vocal hip-swinging in her singing, in which she uses her classic and authentically French mezzo to fine effect. Her smokey tone goes down to an unexaggerated lower register, and she is ideal in the equally important spoken aspects of the role.
Left to her own devices, she is a compelling actress, and the relish with which she lights a cigarette held in her mouth while singing the Habanera suggests that her feline Carmen may now become part of her repertoire.
Photo: Robert Workman
Pavel Cernoch sings Don José with plangency and power, making the Flower Song a highlight of the evening, and his final return as the deranged lover is utterly convincing. In her role debut as the shy Micaëla, Lucy Crowe gives a melting performance although a little more tone would be nice.
The supporting cast is just as even, with Eliana Pretorian and Rihab Chaieb standing out as Frasquita and Mercédès, and it must be a record in any house — even in France — these days to field a smugglers' quintet that is four-fifths francophone. There is nothing of the usual whiff of 'Allo, 'Allo here. Jakub Hrůša, always an excellent conductor, capitalises on everything to deliver a taut, glittering yet nuanced account of the score and he draws refined playing.
Featuring more mantillas than you can shake a banderilla at, this is not just your average David McVicar show but McVicar with bells on. Though fantastically detailed, less would be more in the claustrophobic sets of Michael Vale. Even without the southern sunshine, which goes missing, the production adds up to a great mass of Carmen-cliche — ultimately an ordinary evening with some extraordinarily good musical performances.
In rep until July 11. glyndebourne.com