"Carmen": Europa Ballet, July 15th, 2022

Jul 18

Jul 18 "Carmen": Europa Ballet, July 15th, 2022

One of my rules is always to stop working during July and August – but as rules are made to be broken, especially mine by me, I could not resist reviewing last Friday's „Carmen" with the „Europa Ballet" in St. Pölten. A very delightful evening. I will tell you why, trying to keep my very subjective views simple. Understandable.

In these, culturally quite arid times in Austria, in what chroreographic works are concerned, it was a great pleasure to witness Peter Breuer's inventive and very special „Carmen".

Yes, a pleasure to once more, at last in the local dance scene, be able to see a work of consistency and substance. Not an evening during which one can see that the „choreography" being presented consists of lots of separate sequels, which were obviously just „glued" together, in different styles as if they had been created during different workshops and had the contribution of many involved and not only from the „choreographer" who „signed" the end product.

What we have seen is a daring and courageous work with a whole concept behind it. And I would like to underline and use capital letters for the word CONCEPT. But it is no news for us that this is Peter Breuer's customary trademark.

Beginning with the use of the more intense literary original by Mérimée, which is definitely bloodier, and juicier than the versions we are used to seeing and the „lighter" plot of the Bizet Opera: Peter Breuer paints another picture of the customary Carmen.

He pulls through, he draws a much more complex painting of this woman whose longing for freedom is the reason for her life – until the very end in which she runs into Don José's dagger, setting herself free at last. Death gives her longed-for freedom in a very similar manner to Wedekind's „Lulu" who at last finds love in the person of Jack, the ripper who kills her and also gives her the desired freedom she had been always searching for.

The use of not only Schedrin's „Carmen Suite" but Elgor's „Enigma variations" and Radio Tarifa is more than a brilliant idea.

I always say: There is nothing better than a good story when well told. And Mr Breuer surely enjoys telling a good story with all its psychological sides and details – the characters become nearly tangible in their solidity – and that is so rare in Ballet - as if they were a sort of Stefan Zweig's inheritance – perhaps the greatest „story-teller" of all times who focused much more on the psychological profile of the characters than perhaps on exact history.

All this brought us wonderful moments of pure scenic mastery: Don José's nearly „satisfying himself" (!) with a symbolic red scarf while Carmen is making love with the Lieutenant... The brilliant „fight" scene in slow motion, which Valerio Testoni has to work on, for he was not in the same „tempo" as the others or at least, did not give the impression to be.

This is a young company – one with lots of potentials – and this fact makes us oversee a bit the technical flaws and, sometimes, quite clear insecurities.

Nevertheless, many good performances were given, especially by Florient Cador, audience’s “darling” as Don José, Marco Marongiu as the „Torero", Gala Lara as the gipsy, llesio Soutto as Carmen's husband and Oliver Hoddinott, who impresses by his precision and “technical cleanness” as well as by his very good stage presence .

Nichika Shibata has still a lot to work on the tittle role. She was not exactly “Carmen”. The seductive, alluring side was missing. Completely. Mostly she lacked facial expression and sex-appeal. The “temptress” was nowhere to be seen. And the „Lola-Lola" part of the character was not even nearly there (Remember the lyrics from „The Blue Angel"? „Men cluster to me like moths around the flame, and if their wings burn, I know I'm not to blame"). A gifted dancer, whose performances I have already praised, but who surely was not exactly right for the role. I repeat it: There is still lots of work to be done.

But all in all, a wonderful evening to enjoy. Erotic, suggestion, intrigue, and jealousy are all given through the perfect continuity of Peter Breuer's „language" - an uninterrupted vocabulary from A to Z (And not a gamut of expression from A to B, as Dorothy Parker put, once, ingeniously). This is „just" the necessary „stuff" that differentiates a good choreographer from an Amateur.

A highly recommendable evening.

But before I finish, just a reminder as I have already mentioned this some times: When will this company, with such potential, at last have the chance of appearing regularly at St. Pölten’s (beautiful and very well-equipped) Festival Hall? When will the Lower-Austria government think of that? What could be more attractive to this city than a ballet company at the Festival Hall? Also for the city’s economy. It would attract so many visitors… Think of that.