Soaring voices, dramatic tension elevate Central City’s ‘Carmen’

Georges Bizet’s “Carmen” contains more “hit tunes” than any other opera. That statement is probably indisputable. But the 1875 score is also doubtless tinkered with as much as any major opera.

There is always the decision whether to use the original spoken dialogue or the recitatives (which are not by Bizet). The Opera Colorado production in 2014 used the recitatives, and the score was presented mostly intact, but the concert-like staging, with the orchestra on the stage and the chorus on risers, was highly controversial. At last year’s Colorado Music Festival, director Jean-Marie Zeitouni presented a heavily adapted and abridged version that aimed for more visceral realism but stripped away most of the heart and comedy of the original, along with a vast amount of the music.

Central City Opera’s production this summer, which opened last Saturday to launch its summer festival, is more satisfying than either of those recent attempts. At the first matinee performance on Wednesday at the jewel box opera house in the mountains on a pleasantly overcast afternoon, the audience was treated to a magnificent display of vocal power and a visually satisfying production from director Jose Maria Condemi.

CCO elected to use the dialogue, which is more authentic, and to do it in French, avoiding the linguistic hodgepodge often encountered with dialogue operas where the sung portions are in the original language but the spoken portions are given in English. It was a bold and very effective choice.

The four principal singers are all stellar. Soprano Emily Pulley — taking a role usually performed by a mezzo — was riveting as the title character. The part of Carmen is one of the most vocally demanding in the entire repertoire. From her entrance, she is rarely offstage, and she seldom has long stretches without singing. All of Carmen’s big tunes, from the sultry “Habanera” to the vigorous Bohemian Dance, were delivered in thrilling fashion by Pulley. Her visual performance was also arresting throughout.

Tenor Adriano Graziani as Carmen’s unfortunate lover (and eventual murderer) Don José almost blew the roof off the tiny opera house with his sheer vocal power. He imbued José with pathos and emotion, making him both menacing and pathetic, and turning between the two on a dime. His Act II “Flower Song” was a highlight, along with his several duets with Carmen and Micaela, the wholesome hometown girl who loves him.

That role is sensitively played by soprano Angela Mortellaro. Her Act III aria was gorgeous, and was given particularly beautiful accompaniment from the orchestra.

Baritone Michael Mayes — who became a CCO favorite with his incredibly powerful vocal and physical performances in 2014’s “Dead Man Walking” (as the condemned Joseph De Rocher) and last season’s “Tosca” (as the utterly amoral Baron Scarpia) — had another strong outing as the bullfighter Escamillo, to whom Carmen turns after becoming exasperated with José. Escamillo gets the opera’s most famous tune, the “Toreador Song,” and Mayes made the most of it.

Among the supporting cast, Heidi Middendorf and Kira Dills-DeSurra were delightfully engaging as Carmen’s friends Frasquita and Mercedes. The smugglers Dancaire and Remendado were played for both comedy and intensity by Armando Contreras and Nathan Ward. Tim Murray as a fellow soldier and Tyler Putnam as a superior officer played well off of Graziani, Pulley and Mortellaro.

The orchestra under conductor Adam Turner was impeccable throughout, not just with the singers, but in the opera’s several familiar orchestral numbers. The beautiful Act III entr’acte was a standout moment. The chorus prepared by Aaron Breid was a vital part of the overall experience, providing rich harmonies and solid acting. A contingent from the Colorado Children’s Chorale was utterly charming.

The excellence of the chorus makes the one disappointment in the production stand in sharper relief. While it was probably done to tighten up the tension at the end of the opera, the gigantic cuts made to the opening choral material in Act IV (depicting the parade and march before the bullfight) are extremely difficult to justify, especially given the music’s familiarity.

That unfortunate cut aside, this is a production not to be missed. Graziani’s performance alone is worth the admission price.