<<  -- 4 --  Malcolm Miller    ENGAGING AND ORIGINAL

In that scene, as Don José sidles across the far wall towards Carmen trying to bring her back to him, there is a recollection of the first Act, in which Carmen moves along the same wall, trying to seduce Don José, a seduction that impels the entire tragic action. Such visual symmetries, quite apart from all the swirling choreography, the tangos in the bar, the children's playing, the bull fight crowd scenes, showed a production alert and responsive to the opera's many layers. It is that quality, in tandem with the musical precision and elan, that makes the ENO's production, so engaging and original, and to which the capacity audience responded with appropriate enthusiasm. Cast and conductor alternate for this season, which continues till 24 March.