La Vraie Carmen

It had been eight years, but Paris had not forgotten its Jennie Tourel. Last week, when she showed up backstage at the red-velvet-and-gold Opera-Comique (where she won her first success 15 years ago), the chorus crowded around her with excited greetings. Said Jennie, who began wowing U.S. concert audiences after she got out of France in 1940: "This is so moving. I remember how I felt the first time I sang Carmen--I didn't know what was going on. This time, I have it under control."

She also had the audience under control. The sell-out house gave her an ovation before she could sing a note. In a Goya-like gown of red brocaded satin, with a red Spanish comb in her black hair, Jennie gave them a Carmen who was fiery and flirtatious. Her voice was no bigger than ever, but it had a new flavor and richness. She took half a dozen curtain calls before the audience would let her go. Backstage, veteran choristers assured newcomers: "Voila fa c'est la vraie Carmen!"

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