Concert conducted by Georges Prtre. Bizets Carmen in concert form (18.00). Repeated 7 March 2005 (20.00), 9 March 2005 (19.30).

At the Auditorium-Parco della Musica in Rome, Georges Bizets Carmen will be performed in concert form by the Accademia di S. Cecilia (5,7, 9 March). What motivates us to go and listen to Carmen yet again is the hope of discovering intelligent and technically prepared singers with something new and different to say about the work. The conditions are right in Rome; will the results be too?

The role of Carmen will be performed by Julia Gertsseva, who was Charlotte in Masssenets Werther in Bologna last year. She has the figure of a top model and has an unusual interpretive style and interesting voice, even if it needs a bit of polish. Marcus Haddock will be Don Jos. He sang recently in Verdis Don Carlo in Florence and has a good stage presence and an expressive singing style, even if his voice seems a little opaque. The conductor is Georges Prtre, considered one of the last examples of the ancient art of conducting. His work is polished and profound from both a technical and interpretive point of view. It will be interesting to compare todays reading of Carmen, with the one he cut on disc 40 years ago with Maria Callas. Paolo Di Nicola.