Opera-lovers get addicted to a performance that reaches out and just grabs them with excitement, delight and ecstasy.

Then for years they sit through moderately satisfying productions hoping that one day they will again experience that mystical moment.

Here, at McLarens on the Lake was a Carmen that electrified me like no other. Imagination, commitment and intimacy more than compensated for the minimal sets, costumes and accompaniment.

Tessa Bremner and Sylvana Angelakis set what could be called the first verismo opera in a 1950s migrant hostel, to show the universal relevant of a hackneyed work. Hackneyed? Fresh voices at close range, coached minutely by Brian Chatterton, caused every number to conquer to audience. Singing before and among us was a complete team whose soloists pitched in as choristers. Though some had sung in Eugene Onegin the night before and Catriona Barr had created Alma Mahler on the previous weekend, none held back.

Only Barr was cautious, and then only in the Bohemian song, to pace her lustrous voice for the distance. Right to the end she was a defiant and glorious Carmen with no hint of the caricature so often seen in the role. In expressing text and phrasing she and her colleagues seemed to be the people themselves, Tasso Bouyessis was Merimee's Jose, slowly losing his integrity.

With his tawdry light show and lairy guitar virtuosity, Grant Doyle's Escamillo was exactly the suburban circuit rock singer that that local girls threw themselves at.

As in Ponnelle's Carmen, Zuniga was a dangerous third rival for Carmen. In the powerful hands of Robert England he was especially so. All gave their utmost to create theatre.

After Teresa La Rocca stopped the show with Micaela's aria, audience enthusiasm really began to mount.

I've seen audiences laugh in the final duet and murder, but there was a shock here as the audience, disarmed by the jollity of Escamillo's rock concert, shared Jose's disbelieving: "I killed the woman I love."

John Lanigan-O'Keeffe, Opera Australasia, December 1996.

600 fans revel in opera's passion

Opera for the people returned to the Border last night when the South Australian Co-Opera performed Carmen at the Wodonga showground.

Word of last year's production of The Magic Flute had clearly spread, for more than 600 opera fans crowded into the makeshift auditorium this year.

Co-Opera presents music in a way which is immediately accessible to the general population.

The cast sings in English and at an arm's length to the audience, drawing them in to the drama and beauty of the music.

This fine production was by Tessa Bremner with musical director by Brian Chatterton.

Catriona Barr appeared in the title role opposite Tasso Bouyessis as Don Jose.

Together they brought the passion, jealousy and violence of this popular work to life in a most convincing manner.

Without the benefit of elaborate sets, expensive costumes or an orchestra they used their considerable acting and singing skills to develop their character and tell a powerful story.

The support cast was no less impressive.

Strong performances by Teresa La Rocca as Micaela and Peter Deane as Morales highlighted the depth of talent in this company.

The entire cast sang with conviction and energy, often exciting the audience to spontaneous applause as they told a tole of possessive love and its tragic consequences.

A chorus of 16 local singers boosted the sound at important points in the story and were clearly well rehearsed and attentive to the demands of the music.

This is an important aspect in building a sense of community involvement in opera, rather than have it seen as an elite and expensive form of entertainment for a privileged few.

To be part of an opera rather than a distant spectator is a wonderful experience and the cast encourage the audience to clap along and cheer whenever they wished.

An obvious crowd pleaser was the startling appearance of Grant Doyle as Escamillo who made the most of his short role as a comic superstar, complete with sparking jacket and electric guitar.

Gregory Lewis, The Border Mail.

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