Ruth Leon recommends… Flamenco Carmen
Ruth Leon recommendsFlamenco Carmen – Flamenco
Click here for tickets : subscription tv
I believe this to be one of the most exciting dance productions ever filmed. Created by choreographer Antonio Gades in collaboration with director Carlos Saura, this matchless production shows how the explosive power and intensity of feeling in traditional Spanish flamenco can bring vividly to life the sultry passion, earthy emotion, love and rivalry that is Carmen. Yes, Bizet is here too, but much of the extraordinary energy is created by the pulsating guitars, the ululating voices, and the insistent heel stamps of the dancers.
Vanesa Vento lives and breathes Carmen, emphasizing the many faces of this character, female, passionate and freedom fighter, but fickle in love as she shamelessly flirts with men she likes, inspiring desire, rivalry and jealousy amongst both the men and other women. But Carmen’s gypsy wildness becomes her own downfall when she discards Don José’s love for that of the bullfighter, as, possessed by a piercing despair, Don José kills her.
You may not, if you have never before spent any time with the art of flamenco, know these remarkable artists but every one of them is worth getting to know. Carmen stars Juan Antonio, Zafra Moreno, Ricardo Friere Gonzalez, Vanesa Vento, Angel Gil, Joaquin Mulero, and Jairo Rodriguez.
Definitely worth seeing, if you haven’t already. Of course, Antonio Gades is one of Spain’s national treasures (even if he advocated Catalán independence and had strong leftist ideals). And Carlos Saura was incredible for his imagination and appreciation of the art form of flamenco.
Gades also featured in some other amazing flamenco films with music by de Falla (El Amor Brujo) and Federico García Lorca’s adaptation of “Blood Wedding” (Bodas de Sangre), which was also directed by Carlos Saura.
There was also an attempt by Saura to do a flamenco “Salomé” with Richard Strauss’ music; the “thin wrapper” plot was very similar to that approach used in “Carmen”, but I did not find it as successful since flamenco was probably the last thing that would have occurred to Strauss when he was composing it.
I found it interesting while looking at the “Carmen” opera film production which included Plácido Domingo and Julia Migenes, that most of the extras in the flamenco scenes were also featured dancers in the flamenco “Carmen” by Sauro. Don’t remember if Antonio Gades was also in there, though.
Should have been “Federico García Lorca’s ‘Bodas de Sangre'” (as in “written by…”) which was adapted by Carlos Saura.