The premiere of Carmen took place on Saturday, July 24. Read the reviews of:

Kester Freriks, NRC Handelsblad (July 26, 2021)
"...It is a tough, raw Carmen that director Corina van Eijk and conductor Tjalling Wijnstra portray."
"Direction and musical accompaniment vary on playfulness and fate"
"Carmen always sings and seals her fate, with a sincere purity that hurts."
read here: 'Tragically Carmen finds her fate in a Frisian meadow' (original text in Dutch)

Jeanine Kramer, Leeuwarder Courant (July 26, 2021)
"Carmen, mezzo-soprano Itzel Medecigo, knew how to handle her whimsical character. Demanding, dominant, super sexy and temperamental, she seduced the sensitive Don José (compellingly and lyrically performed by tenor, Eric Reddet). was excellently cast."
"…(David Visser) entered the arena soaked. What a beautiful voice and appearance this baritone has."
"The quality of all the singing was beautiful, the choir (twelve singers) had a fantastic harmony. Everything was just right."
read here: 'Sultry passion in sober staging at Opera Spanga' (original text in Dutch)

Nell Westerlaken, De Volkskrant (July 27, 2021)
"The Dutch-Mexican mezzo-soprano Itzel Medecigo only gradually gives Carmen's restrained temperament space with her glowing, powerful voice."
"The factory girls and the soldiers attract and repel each other like magnets. Hands on buttocks, hands on thighs, suggestive gestures, courtships. There are no waiting chickies here, but women who are flirting as defiantly as sovereign."
read here: 'Soprano Itzel Medecigo is the most sensual Carmen ever seen in the Frisian fields' (original text in Dutch)

Henri Drost, Theaterkrant (July 29, 2021)
"…that seems to change abruptly with the emergence of toreador Escamillo, played and sung with bravura by baritone David Visser."
"Only twelve musicians in the orchestra pit, but under the direction of Tjalling Wijnstra they realize tight tempi and a considerable volume…"
read here: 'Carmen with her feet firmly in the clay' (original text in Dutch)