On my way into Lincoln Center Plaza for Carmen at the Met on Wednesday, I heard a scalper complaining loudly (to a group of well dressed opera going hopefuls) “When Pavarotti used to sing I got $400 for these tickets.  $400 I would get!”  I guess he didn’t like being lowballed by clients in black tie.  I’ll bet he did get $400 a ticket when Pavarotti was singing.  And that was a decade ago at least.  Does that say anything about opera now I wonder?  What are Netrebko scalper prices?  It was too cold to listen to more of the exchange and I continued my dash to the door.

Once in the blessed warmth of the Met, I had one of the highlights of the evening.  I was curtly carded while ordering a glass of wine on the second floor bar at the Met.  Totally made my day.  And week.  And year.

I am familiar with Carmen but had not seen a full production before.  The pace of the music, as conducted by Michele Mariotti, seemed fast at first, especially during the overture, but then settled in to a brisk andante.  I have to confess I groaned when I saw ballet dancers come out before the first act.  But perhaps that was just my Les Troyens Ballet Overdose PTSD.

Anita Rachvelishvili as Carmen wasn’t as overly sexual as I expected her to be for the character.  From what I understand, Carmen’s skirt is normally hiked up close to her waist and exposing much of her thigh.  This Carmen, while sexual as the character should be, wasn’t excessively exaggerated.  Nikolai Schukoff as Don Jose, however, was excessive, even “adjusting” himself after his first encounter with her.  Was that scripted or real?  I understand that sex and desire are the driving forces behind the story but I found his “tucking” of himself pretty yuck.

Rachvelishvili didn’t seem to hold all her high notes, sometimes cutting out early.  I wasn’t particularly grabbed by her performance, although she bloomed vocally at the end.  Her voice at times seemed weak or covered I think the term is.

Schukoff was also just ok.  Perfectly competent but nothing electrifying, although like Rachvelishvili he opened up at the end.  Carmen’s cohorts were great, particularly Jennifer Johnson Cano as Mercedes and the Fortune Telling duet was a highlight of the evening.  Dwayne Croft was a replacement Escamillo for Teddy Tahu Rhoades the evening we were there.  We had seen Croft in Les Troyens and I like him.  I like his personal story even more.  Although apparently he never played sports, Croft was my friends’ track coach at Buckley, a private boys school, before he made it as an opera singer.  My friends were shocked when Coach Croft left Buckley for opera.

This production was also the first time I have seen the spinning circular set really work up to it’s potential at the Met.  It fully utilized the space at the Met, shifting from the barracks to the exterior of the cigarette factory for the cigarette girls to the mountain hideaway for the gypsies and later the outside of a stadium where Escamillo bull fights.  I particularly enjoyed that the cigarette girls climbed out from a hole in the ground.  I was confused by this, but perhaps it’s better to work underground where it’s damp when making cigarettes?

On our way out, I spotted a group of young teenagers leaving the Met, and I was curious as to their take.  My first opera was in my early 20s.  I wondered what these teens made of the production, especially since their excitement at being at the opera was palpable.  It was clear this was their first at the Met.  The size of their group made me wonder if they got a group ticket rate from the scalpers outside. 

I’ll keep my ear out at Parsifal on Monday for the scalper ticket prices.  Maybe he’ll get his $400.