Tokyo Nikikai Opera Opera ‘Carmen’ Review

Feb 27, 2025, 11:57 am

Breaking the mold or following convention: the director's dilemma

		0
Tokyo Nikikai Opera Theatre "Carmen" photo by Masahiko Terashi

Tokyo Nikikai Opera (Nikikai) presented a new production of the opera “Carmen”.

Nikai's production of "Carmen" at the Ueno Cultural Center in Tokyo, Japan, marks the company's first performance of the opera in some 22 years, since it was last staged in 2003. "Carmen" is one of the most popular operas not only in Korea but also in Japan, and its return to the stage after such a long time speaks to the expansion and diversification of Nikikai's repertoire.

"Carmen" is a work led by a woman, the so-called femme fatale, and this opera was also directed and conducted by a woman. Irina Brook, the daughter of the legendary director Peter Brook, who passed away in 2022, is a director and actress in her own right.

Irina Brook set the play in a fictionalized space that blends a variety of elements. Inspired by the apocalyptic landscapes of the ‘Mad Max’ movies, she said she was looking for a situation that would convey Carmen's free spirit rather than a fixed point of view or setting. For this reason, the barracks of Don Jose's garrison and the gypsy dwellings were both desolate and disorganized, and the lack of military uniforms made it difficult to distinguish between the two sides by costume. It was a different interpretation of the original story, in which a white man's exemplary and orderly world is disrupted by a gypsy woman and he gradually turns into a vagabond.

		0
Tokyo Nikikai Opera Theatre "Carmen" photo by Masahiko Terashi

This set and interpretation did little to explain Don José's love-hate feelings for Carmen. Don José's emotional behavior toward Carmen, who is nothing more than a bunch of gypsies, is not very sympathetic. In addition, Don José is portrayed as a more stupid man than in the original, which makes it difficult to understand Carmen's attraction to him, and Escamillo's characterization as a ridiculous chauffeur rather than a dashing bullfighter is also lacking in development.

The most applauded part of the evening is the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, led by conductor Nodoka Okisawa. The winner of the Concours international de jeunes chefs d'orchestre de Besançon 2019, Nodoka Okisawa is the first Japanese woman to conduct the Berlin Philharmonic and is one of the most sought-after Japanese conductors on the international stage, considered the successor to Seiji Ozawa. On this day, Okisawa played with lyricism and elasticity, supported by the solid string bass of the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra. The wind section seemed to be out of balance at the beginning with its loud volume, but as the piece progressed, it produced a harmonious and delicate sound.

One of the most distinctive features of Tokyo Nikikai Opera is that the majority of the cast is made up of Japanese singers. This is the most important aspect of Nikikai's philosophy, which is that operas produced in Japan should prioritize the participation of Japanese singers and Japanese collaborators. As such, Nikikai's stages are a good indication of the current state of Japanese opera and vocal music. In this performance, Nikikai's top Japanese singers represented the company.

		0
Tokyo Nikikai Opera Theatre "Carmen" photo by Masahiko Terashi

Mezzo-soprano Nozomi Caro, who sang the title role of Carmen, won many applause for her rich tone, flexible musicality, and good acting skills. In Asian opera, where many sopranos have a relatively light texture, a mezzo-soprano with such a natural and stable low, middle, and high range as Nozomi Caro is rare, and I look forward to seeing her sing other roles in future Rossini operas. Tenor Hironori Jo as Don José and Baritone Shunsuke Imai as Escamillo, on the other hand, are disappointing with their small tones, unclear diction, and lack of brilliance in their high notes. I remember Hironori Jo as Nikikai's signature tenor, and he was good in Italian opera, but I think Don José, the realm of the dramatic tenor, was too much for him.

Irina Brook's interpretation of “Carmen” was in many ways a departure from previous productions. The director's feminist perspective, emphasizing women's freedom, was sometimes overwhelming, but the production was unified in intention and emotion. Her father, Peter Brook, had staged his own version of “Carmen”, “The Tragedy of Carmen”, in 1981. Watching this performance of “Carmen”, I could sense the director's struggle to find a compromise between the unconventionality that her father attempted in ‘The tragedy of Carmen’ and the conventions of existing operas.