National Ballet of Canada, Carmen reviews

Paula Citron, Globe and Mail

"You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. Italian choreographer Davide Bombana’s short version of Carmen (2006) was underwhelming when it entered the National Ballet of Canada’s repertoire in 2009. His full-length Carmen (2009), which has just had its National debut, is absolutely bloodless."

Michael Crabb, Toronto Star

"The problem, however, is that Bombana brings little dramatic cohesion to a ballet that moves along in almost cinematic episodes, augmented in this revised version by semi-abstract video projections of naked bodies. Under these circumstances it’s hard to feel empathy with the characters on stage, regardless of how passionately they are performed."

Dana Glassman, 
Dance review: The National Ballet's Carmen is plain in Spain

National Post ‎

"The ads promise “Lust. Betrayal. Murder.” And while this ballet (which takes its inspiration from Prosper Mérimée’s torrid 1845 novella) does include all of those traits, it never fully ignites."

John Coulbourn

http://jctraj.blogspot.ca/2013/06/ballet-review-carmen-pictured-greta.html

 "So, in the end, if its fine dancing and exacting choreography that sets your heart to soaring in the waning days of spring, this CARMEN may be just the ticket. But if you're looking for a CARMEN for the ages — or even just a memorable facsimile of same —  then you might want to take a pass and wait, with fingers crossed, 'til the opera comes around again."

Fifty Shades of Carmen

"Carmen"
The National Ballet of Canada
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts
Toronto, Canada
June 5, 2013
By Denise Sum, danceviewtimes

"Bombana's "Carmen", while modern and risk-taking, is ultimately a disappointment. The two act version suffers from the same incoherence as the one act version. Furthermore, the over-the-top pseudo-eroticism proves that trying too hard to be sexy is rather, well, unsexy."

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