Beware the anger of a humiliated man. It’s an all-too-familiar story – and in Johan Inger’s version of Carmen, the focus is less on the free-spirited woman than the hapless guy who falls disastrously under her spell.Inger starts from Prosper Mérimée’s original novella, rather than Bizet’s subsequent opera. But Bizet understood that Carmen’s radical self-determination is more compelling, her inner life more intriguing than José’s hurt pride.
Inger doesn’t give access to Carmen’s insouciant decision-making – though Minju Kang, leading the first-night cast in her ruffled scarlet frock, gives her a sly grin and wonderfully sleek gleam. Rentaro Nakaaki’s José starts poker-faced and proper, but the soldier is soon juddering on his tippy toes, palpitating with desire until he can barely stand.Kang’s Carmen rules the group dances with a flick of the ankle, a push of the hips. José watches from the back, ignored. He and Carmen have almost nothing in common – until they dance together in twisty, expressionist movement that no one else shares.
