Here's something you might be interested in.
On Saturday night, Carmen opened and was panned by every critic who saw it.
The critics were justified. Carmen was subdued and passive, Don Jose sounded worn out, Escamillo merely posed, the secondary roles were great and the chorus was the best thing in the show.
On Tuesday night we had a different show.
Carmen was dominant, sensual, and charismatic. Don Jose sounded like he had taken a power nap and focused his voice more frequently. Escamillo still posed a lot but his character was more ferocious in his confrontation with Jose.
The secondary roles and chorus remained consistent.
I've never seen a performer completely change a role in the manner that Nino Surguladze did as Carmen.
Throughout the staging process, she was subdued. On opening night she was passive. On Tuesday night she was on fire and took over the show.
Her new character gave Don Jose and Escamillo someone to lust after which augmented the entire show. On opening night, we may have wonder why Jose and Escamillo were fighting over a limp noodle.
What gives?
The only thing I can speculate about is that the director had left town by Tuesday and Nino decided to play Carmen the way she wanted to.
I felt a bit sorry for the opening night audience because they got half the show the Tuesday group did.
We'll see how Friday goes.
On Saturday night, Carmen opened and was panned by every critic who saw it.
The critics were justified. Carmen was subdued and passive, Don Jose sounded worn out, Escamillo merely posed, the secondary roles were great and the chorus was the best thing in the show.
On Tuesday night we had a different show.
Carmen was dominant, sensual, and charismatic. Don Jose sounded like he had taken a power nap and focused his voice more frequently. Escamillo still posed a lot but his character was more ferocious in his confrontation with Jose.
The secondary roles and chorus remained consistent.
I've never seen a performer completely change a role in the manner that Nino Surguladze did as Carmen.
Throughout the staging process, she was subdued. On opening night she was passive. On Tuesday night she was on fire and took over the show.
Her new character gave Don Jose and Escamillo someone to lust after which augmented the entire show. On opening night, we may have wonder why Jose and Escamillo were fighting over a limp noodle.
What gives?
The only thing I can speculate about is that the director had left town by Tuesday and Nino decided to play Carmen the way she wanted to.
I felt a bit sorry for the opening night audience because they got half the show the Tuesday group did.
We'll see how Friday goes.