By Giorgio Di Marzo
No, no turbid or itching stories from gossip magazines! The Carmen we are talking about is the most famous among all the Carmencitas: the cheeky, frivolous, brave, gipsy beauty, expert in men and tarots, character of the homonymous opera by Bizet. And Marco Berti – an Italian tenor very well-known both in Italy and abroad – is her jealous lover Don Jose’, who has delighted the audience of the Royal Opera House with his powerful and firm voice.
It is to be remembered for the non-melomanes that the first staging of the Carmen, which took place at the Opera Comique in Paris on 3rd March 1875, was not as successful as it would have deserved, due to the essential conservativeness of the French audiences. Bizet, probably because of the strong criticism, too, died just three months after the first performance. In 1878 Carmen landed into London, and right here it acquired its popularity, furthermore sung in Italian.
As to the production of the Royal Opera House, of particular visual impact have been both scenography and costumes, the sapient use of lights, the choice of a beautiful and skilful Carmen – the Hungarian Viktoria Vizin – who has interpreted a very sexy Carmen that made very likely spin not just Don Jose’ and Escamillo’s heads but somebody’s in the audience, too. Of great sound impact our tenor Marco, who in the second part has given his best astonishing the audience with his powerful voice, and the virginal and sweet Micaëla interpreted by Liping Zhang, who received a long applause.
With Marco Berti we have talked about music, not only opera, in a videointerview available on our website that put into evidence his stentorian voice and, also, his jovial character.
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