This event is part of the Taliesin Arts Centre series
One of opera’s most notorious free spirits, Carmen is a rebel with a passionate cause – she wants to live and love in her own way. Though Carmen warns Don José not to love her, he gives up his job, reputation and girlfriend Micaëla for her. Soon bored of Don José's obsessive nature, Carmen moves on to celebrity toreador Escamillo. What she doesn’t anticipate is the searing jealousy that will be unleashed in her former lover.
Olivier award-winning director Damiano Michieletto's searing new production evokes all the passion and heat of Bizet's score. Conductors Antonello Manacorda and Emmanuelle Villaume lead two stellar international casts, headlined by Aigul Akhmetshina and Vasilisa Berzhanskaya.
The origins of Carmen
Bizet took the plot of Carmen from the popular novella of the same name by French writer Prosper Mérimée, who claimed to be inspired by a true story. Though it earned a lukewarm response from the press and public at its premiere – perhaps due to its heady combination of passion, sensuality and violence — the opera soon became immensely popular and remains an enduring favourite today. In fact, Carmen is the second most performed opera in The Royal Opera’s repertory, having been performed over 500 times.
Contact: Taliesin Arts Centre (Email: info@taliesinartscentre.co.uk) - Telephone: 01792 602060