Carmen

Represented on stages all over the world and whose arias are immediately recognisable to melomaniacs and neophytes alike, think of L'amour est un oiseau rebelle (Habanera) – Carmen è a symbolic opera of the search for the freedom to love, a plastic depiction of the gender violence that springs from an overwhelming passion. The title was initially little appreciated and found its fortune only after the death of its composer: the debut of the Paris premiere, in fact, did not meet with public approval, scandalised by the scabrous story represented, but after a few months in Vienna – unfortunately after the premature death of its author – the opera finally found the success that made it an immortal title in the history of music. On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the first performance, which took place at the Opéra-Comique in Paris on 3 March 1875, the new production of Carmen will feature Maestro Sergio Alapont, a specialist in the French repertoire, conducting the orchestra.
The production – co-produced by the Theatres of OperaLombardia (the Grande of Brescia, the Ponchielli of Cremona, the Fraschini of Pavia, the Sociale of Como and the Donizetti of Bergamo), together with the Teatro Comunale Pavarotti-Freni of Modena, the Teatro Municipale of Piacenza and the Teatro Dante Alighieri of Ravenna – will bear the signature of director Stefano Vizioli and will be completed with sets by Emanuele Sinisi, costumes by Annamaria Heinreich and lighting by Vincenzo Raponi.
In the artistic cast, the voice of Emanuela Pascu, a talented Romanian mezzo-soprano who will perform the title role alternating with Emilia Rukavina, will stand out. Roberto Aronica will dress the part of Don José, sharing the role with Egyptian tenor Ragaa El Din, while Rocio Faus and Alessia Merepeza will alternate in the character of Micaëla and Pablo Ruiz will be Escamillo. Completing the cast will be the voices of Aoxue Zhu (Mercédès), Soraya Mencid (Frasquita), Matteo Torcaso (Moralès), Nicola Ciancio (Zuniga) and Edoardo Milletti (Remendado). The opera will be sung in the original language with surtitles in Italian.

Synopsis

Place: Seville, Spain, and surrounding hills
Time: Around 1820

Act 1

A square, in Seville. On the right, a door to the tobacco factory. At the back, a bridge. On the left, a guardhouse.

A group of soldiers relaxes in the square, waiting for the changing of the guard and commenting on the passers-by ("Sur la place, chacun passe"). Micaëla appears, seeking José. Moralès tells her that "José is not yet on duty" and invites her to wait with them. She declines, saying she will return later. José arrives with the new guard, which is greeted and imitated by a crowd of urchins ("Avec la garde montante").

As the factory bell rings, the cigarette girls emerge and exchange banter with young men in the crowd ("La cloche a sonné"). Carmen enters and sings her provocative habanera on the untameable nature of love ("L'amour est un oiseau rebelle"). The men plead with her to choose a lover, and after some teasing she throws a flower to Don José, who thus far has been ignoring her but is now annoyed by her insolence.

As the women go back to the factory, Micaëla returns and gives José a letter and a kiss from his mother ("Parle-moi de ma mère!"). He reads that his mother wants him to return home and marry Micaëla, who retreats in shy embarrassment on learning this. Just as José declares that he is ready to heed his mother's wishes, the women stream from the factory in great agitation. Zuniga, the officer of the guard, learns that Carmen has attacked a woman with a knife. When challenged, Carmen answers with mocking defiance ("Tra la la... Coupe-moi, brûle-moi"); Zuniga orders José to tie her hands while he prepares the prison warrant. Left alone with José, Carmen beguiles him with a seguidilla, in which she sings of a night of dancing and passion with her lover—whoever that may be—in Lillas Pastia's tavern. Confused yet mesmerised, José agrees to free her hands; as she is led away she pushes her escort to the ground and runs off laughing. José is arrested for dereliction of duty.

Act 2

Lillas Pastia's Inn

A month has passed. Carmen and her friends Frasquita and Mercédès are entertaining Zuniga and other officers ("Les tringles des sistres tintaient") in Pastia's inn. Carmen is delighted to learn of José's release from a month's detention. Outside, a chorus and procession announces the arrival of the toreador Escamillo ("Vivat, vivat le Toréro"). Invited inside, he introduces himself with the "Toreador Song" ("Votre toast, je peux vous le rendre") and sets his sights on Carmen, who brushes him aside. Lillas Pastia hustles the crowds and the soldiers away.

When only Carmen, Frasquita and Mercédès remain, the smugglers Dancaïre and Remendado arrive and reveal their plans to dispose of some recently acquired contraband ("Nous avons en tête une affaire"). Frasquita and Mercédès are keen to help them, but Carmen refuses, since she wishes to wait for José. After the smugglers leave, José arrives. Carmen treats him to a private exotic dance ("Je vais danser en votre honneur ... La la la"), but her song is joined by a distant bugle call from the barracks. When José says he must return to duty, she mocks him, and he answers by showing her the flower that she threw to him in the square ("La fleur que tu m'avais jetée"). Unconvinced, Carmen demands he shows his love by leaving with her. José refuses to desert, but as he prepares to depart, Zuniga enters looking for Carmen. He and José fight, and are separated by the returning smugglers, who restrain Zuniga. Having attacked a superior officer, José now has no choice but to join Carmen and the smugglers ("Suis-nous à travers la campagne").

Act 3

A wild spot in the mountains

Carmen and José enter with the smugglers and their booty ("Écoute, écoute, compagnons"); Carmen has now become bored with José and tells him scornfully that he should go back to his mother. Frasquita and Mercédès amuse themselves by reading their fortunes from the cards; Carmen joins them and finds that the cards are foretelling her death, and José's. The women depart to suborn the customs officers who are watching the locality. José is placed on guard duty.

Micaëla enters with a guide, seeking José and determined to rescue him from Carmen ("Je dis que rien ne m'épouvante"). On hearing a gunshot she hides in fear; it is José, who has fired at an intruder who proves to be Escamillo. José's pleasure at meeting the bullfighter turns to anger when Escamillo declares his infatuation with Carmen. The pair fight ("Je suis Escamillo, toréro de Grenade"), but are interrupted by the returning smugglers and girls ("Holà, holà José"). As Escamillo leaves he invites everyone to his next bullfight in Seville. Micaëla is discovered; at first, José will not leave with her despite Carmen's mockery, but he agrees to go when told that his mother is dying. As he departs, vowing he will return, Escamillo is heard in the distance, singing the toreador's song.

Act 4

A square in Seville. At the back, the walls of an ancient amphitheatre

Zuniga, Frasquita and Mercédès are among the crowd awaiting the arrival of the bullfighters ("Les voici ! Voici la quadrille!"). Escamillo enters with Carmen, and they express their mutual love ("Si tu m'aimes, Carmen"). As Escamillo goes into the arena, Frasquita warns Carmen that José is nearby, but Carmen is unafraid and willing to speak to him. Alone, she is confronted by the desperate José ("C'est toi ! C'est moi !"). While he pleads vainly for her to return to him, cheers are heard from the arena. As José makes his last entreaty, Carmen contemptuously throws down the ring he gave her and attempts to enter the arena. He then stabs her, and as Escamillo is acclaimed by the crowds, Carmen dies. José kneels and sings "Ah! Carmen! ma Carmen adorée!"; as the crowd exits the arena, José confesses to killing the woman he loved.

Program and cast

Opera-comique in four acts
libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy
adapted from the novella Carmen by Prosper Mérimée
music by Georges Bizet
recitations set to music by Ernest Guiraud
First performance: Paris, Opera-Comique, 3 March 1875

Characters and performers
Carmen    Emanuela Pascu (I)/Emilia Rukavina (II)
Don José    Roberto Aronica (I)/Joseph Dahdah (II)
Micaëla    Rocio Faus (I)/Alessia Merepeza (II)
Escamillo    Pablo Ruiz
Mercédès    Aoxue Zhu
Frasquita    Soraya Mencid
Moralès    Gianluca Failla
Zuniga    Nicola Ciancio
Dancairo    William Allione
Remendado    Enrico Iviglia

director Sergio Alapont
conductor Stefano Vizioli

choreography and assistant director Pierluigi Vanelli
scenes Emanuele Sinisi
costumes Annamaria Heinrich
lighting Vincenzo Raponi
video mapping and visual art project Imaginarium Studio

choirmaster Diego Maccagnola
master of the children's choir Mario Mora

OperaLombardia Choir
White Voice Choir I Piccoli Musici
Orchestra I Pomeriggi Musicali

New production by Theatres of OperaLombardia, Teatro Comunale “Pavarotti-Freni” di Modena, Teatro Municipale di Piacenza, Teatro “Dante Alighieri” di Ravenna