- Georges Bizet
Composer - Librettists
Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy
Company – Theatre – Date
- Opera Montana
- The Ellen Theatre
- April–May 2027
Creatives
- Ella Marchment
Director - Awaiting details
Assistant Director - Zoë Hurwitz
Set Designer - Zoë Hurwitz
Costume Designer - Awaiting details
Choreographer - Awaiting details
Lighting Designer
Musicians
- Michael Sakir
Conductor - Opera Montana Choir
Chorus - Opera Montana Orchestra
Orchestra
Cast
- Lisa Marie Rogali
- John Riesen
- Vanessa Isiguen
- Seunghyeon Baek
Programme
Synopsis
Act I
In Seville, soldiers gamble near a cigarette factory. Micaëla arrives, searching for her childhood sweetheart, the corporal Don José. Soon, the factory women emerge for their break, including the fierce, free-spirited Romani woman Carmen. She sings a provocative love song (‘Habanera’) and tosses a flower to the indifferent José. Later, a fight breaks out inside the factory. Carmen slashes another worker with a knife. José is ordered to guard her. Carmen seduces him into letting her escape, and José is arrested for neglecting his duty.
Act II
Two months later, Carmen and her friends dance at a local tavern. The glamorous bullfighter Escamillo arrives, boasting of his exploits. He flirts with Carmen, but she rejects him. Smugglers try to recruit Carmen for a robbery, but she refuses because she is waiting for José, who has just been released from prison. José arrives, but soon hears the retreat bugle. When he prepares to return to barracks, Carmen mocks his loyalty. José’s superior officer arrives to arrest him, forcing José to desert the army and join the smugglers.
Act III
High in the mountains, the smugglers set up camp. Carmen’s love for José has already cooled. She reads her fortune in tarot cards, which repeatedly predict death for both of them. Micaëla bravely enters the camp to tell José that his mother is dying. Meanwhile, Escamillo arrives to invite Carmen to his next bullfight, sparking a knife fight between him and a jealous José. José reluctantly leaves with Micaëla, vowing to return to Carmen.
Act IV
Outside the bullring in Seville, a festive crowd cheers the grand parade. Carmen arrives on the arm of her new lover, Escamillo. Her friends warn her that José is lurking in the crowd, but she refuses to hide. José corners her outside the arena, desperately begging her to start a new life with him. Carmen declares she was born free and will die free, throwing his ring in the dirt. Enraged by her rejection, José stabs Carmen to death as the crowd inside cheers Escamillo’s victory.
Video
Awaiting video
Photos
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All photos (C) Opera Montana