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Carmen: Holywell Music Room
2:25pm Wednesday 14th May 2008
Oxford Triptych Theatre launched its new Opera in Concert project last weekend with a spellbinding performance of Carmen. Concert version this may have been, but all the passion and drama of Bizet's opera were superbly captured by a young and immensely talented cast. Produced by Simon Tavener, with musical direction by John Murton, this was a polished and stylish affair, which provided the perfect showcase for some of Oxfordshire's most promising young singers.
As the eponymous heroine, Cathy Bell impressed both vocally and dramatically; this was a sultry, seductive temptress, with a rich and fluid mezzo voice. Towards the end, she did appear to be flagging a little, but on the whole coped well with a technically difficult and emotionally demanding role. At her best, she was mesmerizing; I could have listened to her singing the Habañera all night. Even more impressive was the Don José of Patrick Ashcroft, who gave a well-sustained, vocally strong and passionate performance. His voice has a beautiful, tender and pliant quality, which he uses to great effect. Danae Pallikaropoulos gave a sympathetic and strongly-sung portrayal of Micaëla, Alexander Nicholas enjoyed himself with a sparkling rendition of the famous Toreador's song, and Camilla Farrant and Katherine Cooper contributed stylish performances of Frasquita and Mercédès respectively. Tom West and William Petter were strong vocally but perhaps not quite dashing enough as the smugglers Dancaïre and Remendado, while Omar El-Okdah, appearing as both Moralès and Zuniga, revealed a strong baritone voice but could have done with raising his head from his score a little more often.
The only pity about this production was that it was only on for one night. This collection of outstanding voices deserves a wider audience, and it would be wonderful to see this production revived, fully-staged, and toured to other venues. It was also a shame to see the Holywell only half full; these singers deserved better support.
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