NBT Carmen reviews Carmen Performances Didy Veldman Interview Our NBT Page Halifax plc is the national tour sponsor of NBT.

Eight weeks and five theatres after the première of NBT's "Carmen", this production has settled down into a truly slick, fluent and scintillating performance, without losing a single shred of enthusiasm and freshness. Last night I chanced upon what I presume is the "first" cast, and it looked it. Charlotte Broom is a fabulously seductive Carmen, conveying every nuance of seduction, authority, contempt, lust, pity, tenderness and power, as each moment prescribes. Fiona Wallis (my previous Carmen) looked immensly more at home in the role of Micaela.

Larissa Wright and Charlotte Talbot were stunning as Carmens's friends, Mercedes and Frasquita. I thought Daniel de Andrade was a superb José (Luc Jacobs is affectionately imprinted in my mind forever as my favourite Quasimodo) and Christopher Giles (the rock star, Escamillo) can only be described as "cool".

It was an immense pleasure to see Jeremy Kerridge again - he has such control and authority - whether he be variously gangster or barman.

So, once again, I drove home from an NBT performance with my head in the clouds, music in my ears and thoughts of heavenly things. No wonder each performance is danced to a packed house who use their hands to show appreciation rather than sitting on them.

I love seeing these productions a second time - you can forget about the story development and concentrate on the details. I still got my biggest emotional fix from the José/Micaela pas de deux in the third act, thought this time I did have to wipe away a tear when Carmen was shot. And I had forgotten about the amazing fight between the women which, I am assured, is amazingly realistic ("Women don't know how to fight properly, they just scratch and pull hair" - but then, I couldn't possibly comment!).

I believe four casts have rehearsed this production. So that's two down, two to go....

MAN OF THE MATCH

For once, this wasn't immediately obvious. Fiona Wallis was immensely touching as Micaela; and of course I could award it to Larissa Wright any time (Shhhh, I think I've fallen for her); and Charlotte Barton was an exquisite Frasquita. And Jeremy Kerridge stole the "Dance of the Mobile Phones" and always makes me break out into silly grins. However, I had been looking forward so much to seeing Charlotte Broom as Carmen (having been drooling over her calandar piccie since February) and, yes, I could certainly have been beguiled into slipping her hand-cuffs myself if she had been in my care! And her bedroom scene and black lacey bra....Ooooooh, I think I better stop now....