Artistic Director David Hallberg of the Australian Ballet describes Carmen as the most ambitious contemporary production programmed. It’s a performance that wins on every level.
The curtains rises on a blackened stage with a young child (Lilla Harvey) dressed in white, playing with a ball. Suddenly a figure emerges swathed head-to-toe in black, even their face is covered. It’s a menacing, dramatic start and clear this is a version of Carmen like no other.
From dance, opera, theatre, musical and film there have been many portrayals of the tragic tale since it was first written in 1845. In 2001, even Beyoncé made her acting debut in a hip hop adaptation. Swedish choreographer Johan Inger has created a contemporary, raw and powerful ballet. The central ingredients of seduction, obsession and ultimately betrayal, remain true to the original story but Inger’s version is gritty, dark and sexual. This isn’t the ballet to take children to.
The calibre and skill of the Australian Ballet dancers is exemplary. This is a corps where dancing is as natural as walking. Recently appointed Principal Dancer Jill Ogal (in the role of Carmen) dominates the stage. She sashays onto the stage in a sexy red dress, her every move cognisant of her beauty and power.
Ogal performs the role with vigor. She dances seductively, teasing and taunting as she sways her hips low. Sitting on the floor, she spreads her legs wide, inviting her would be lovers with her movements. Her deep backbends, acquiesce and control.
It’s no wonder that Don José (performed by Principal Artist Callum Linnane) falls under Carmen’s spell as she unzips her dress, tossing him a flower, to squeezing an orange into his mouth after their steamy pas de deux. Linnane manages to express the agony of the tortured lover beautifully and has incredible command over his body illuminated in his jerky, puppet-like movements.
Inger’s choreography is energetic and powerful. The style is a blend of classical, modern and Spanish dance moves. This Carmen is closer to Prosper Mérimée’s original novella and leans into Don José’s psychological state. The Swedish choreographer wanted to look at the domestic violence expressed in the book for his ballet and he takes it to the extreme with the dancers freezing at brutal moments.
The set-design by Curt Allen Wilmer and Leticia Gañán seems simple but is highly functional using large moveable prisms that move across the stage, transforming into doors, walls and mirrors, subtly changing the setting from the outdoors, to factory interior, and finally, the introspective world of Don José’s psyche.
Late Spanish fashion designer David Delfín dressed Carmen in red, as is tradition, which impacts against the dark set background. The ensemble female dancers are all dressed in identical dresses to Carmen but dark muted colours, gray, maroon, olive green and browns. The short, sexy dresses with a touch of Spanish ruffle allow the dancers complete movement. The Toreador (performed with gusto by Marcus Morelli) sparkled in his leather look pants and black sequined jacket.
The performance is accompanied by composer George Bizet’s famous opera score orchestrated by Álvaro Domínguez Vásquez. And in the second act turns to a dark pulsating electronic pastiche of soundscapes by Marc Álvarez evoking the dark psyche of José’s mind. The music raises the tension towards the ultimate tragic conclusion.
The two-act performance runs for 104 minutes with one interval.
Fierce and fiery, Carmen will intoxicate audiences at the Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House until 27 April.
Five stars.
To purchase tickets visit 》 australianballet.com.au/performances/carmen/
Photos by Daniel Boud
