The heroine of French composer Georges Bizet's "Carmen" is one of the most famous roles in opera, but it's also one of the most difficult of all to carry off well.
An artist playing the ill-fated gypsy seductress in this 1875 masterpiece must be able to move in a wild and untamed way, yet be captivating at every turn — and possessed of a superb mezzo-soprano voice. All that, while capturing the audience's hearts, means the bar is set very high for those rising to the challenge.
However, Ketevan Kemoklidze, the young Georgian star making her debut as the Spanish femme fatale in the current production by the New National Theatre, Tokyo, excels in every way. Stunning in her looks and her acting, the elegant singer is fluid and kaleidoscopic in every nuance; one moment draping herself languorously around a suitor, and the next asserting herself, or dancing with passionate intensity.