Carmen on Cockatoo Island

Photo above by Hamilton Lund

Opera Australia has reached new heights of artistic excellence with its bold heavy metal interpretation of the classic, which blends a full symphony orchestra sound with a rock music sensibility.

Getting there is an adventure. Audience members catch the ferry from Barangaroo and make their way to the island, where they walk across cracked cement and light gravel strewn paths, through tall metal buildings where ships were built in the last century.

Benches are set up in long rows for dining, but I recommend getting to the venue as early as possible to avoid long queues.

The crunching sound under foot is reflected in the look and feel of the stage.  Set and costume designer Mark Thompson has smashed cars piled up at the back of the stage and scaffolding on either side reaches two or three storeys.

Metal barrels line up as a barricade in front of the first row which protects the audience from motorbikes. More thrilling than horses they burn through horsepower to flash their lights and show off with wheelies during the overture.

Be warned that the bikes also travel up the middle of the aisle, so don’t think about making a quick escape to the toilet without looking very carefully left and right.

Director Liesel Badorrek stripped away all the traditional Spanish paraphernalia of castanets and matador costuming to place the work in a context of rock n roll rebellion. It works brilliantly.

The distraction of sailing ships coming close to the island and planes descending into Sydney airport overhead soon melt away as the audience focusses on the visually stunning production that combined lights, set and intriguing video projections.

One of the first musical delights of the production was the sublime entrance of the female chorus as they come out of the cigarette factory. Here the charismatic leading lady Carmen (Carmen Topicu) entered the stage in her striking leather pants.

Other leads Don José  (Roberto Aronica) and  Micaëla (Danita Weatherstone), gave sparkling renditions of their  respective arias “La fleur que tu m’avais jetée” (The Flower Song) and “Je dis que rien ne m'épouvante” (I say that nothing frightens me.)

Stealing the show was the Toreador song from Escamillo (Daniel Sumegi) dressed like John Travolta from Grease it ended with Opera Australia’s trademark outdoor climax.

Another exceptionally brilliant aspect of the production was the choreography from Shannon Burns. There was a beautiful blending of jazz, hip hop and rock n roll styles from a specialist dance troupe.

The elephant in the room at the opera was the issue of violence against women and misogyny, which Carmen is a victim of, and some argue make operas like these highly problematic in 2022.

Director Liesel Badorrek chose to tackle this head on with a video projection warning the audience that a scene was coming up which portrayed violence against women.

In the context of the style of this production it was a unique way of condemning the behaviour.

Debate about the warning continued on the ferry back home.

Anyway, Cockatoo Island has arrived as a viable destination for outdoor opera performances (proving that it doesn’t rain) and the bench has been very high for future productions there.

David Spicer

Production photos by Prudence Upton.