Organization

Conductor

Timothy Myers

Singer

Baritone

Seth Carico

Escamillo

Austin Opera

Stage director

Rebecca Herman

Mezzo-soprano

Cecelia Hall

Carmen

Tenor

Richard Trey Smagur

Don José

Soprano

Raquel González

Michaela

Costume designer

Susan Memmott-Allred

Set designer

R  Keith Brumley

Lighting designer

Marcella Barbeau

Bass

Justin Hopkins

Zuniga

Conor McDonald

Morales

Dancaire

Micah Perry

Remendado

Lily Guerrero

Frasquita

Jamie Van Eyck

Mercedes

Austin

United States

The Long Center

Public

Approved

Carmen Bizet

Explore the cultural significance of Carmen at our next Conductor Cues on Wednesday, April 10, 2024, at the KMFA Draylen Mason Music Studio. Our Sarah & Ernest Butler Music Director Timothy Myers will join special guest Jennifer Wilks, Austin Opera Trustee and Associate Professor and Director of the John L. Warfield Center for African and African American Studies at the University of Texas, to explore the music and history of Bizet’s masterpiece Carmen. Dr. Wilks will discuss the many adaptations of Carmen and her new book Carmen in Diaspora: Adaptation, Race, and Opera’s Most Famous Character. You’ll also enjoy performances by members of the cast of Carmen.

Arguably the sexiest role in opera, Carmen is a beautiful, free-spirited woman all too aware of her carnal allure, and yet, she despises any man who falls for her. When her mild flirtation with a soldier, Don José, ignites his flaming desire, Carmen rejects him for the famous bullfighter, Escamillo. José’s childhood sweetheart, Micaëla, visits on the pretext of persuading him to return home to his elderly mother, but she arrives just too late. José only has eyes for Carmen. His fate—and Carmen’s—has already been sealed. As José’s love degenerates into morbid obsession, Carmen must soon face the consequences of her need for freedom.

Georges Bizet’s score creates a lush and emotionally charged setting for this tragic story, which includes two of opera’s most iconic and instantly recognizable arias, in the Habanera and the Toreador’s March. Sadly, Bizet died within three months of Carmen’s 1875 premiere—meaning he never knew that he had written what would become one of the most popular operas in the repertoire.

This production sees the directorial debut of Denyce Graves, the most iconic Carmen of her generation. The production is designed by Riccardo Hernández, with costumes by Oana Botez.

Seville’s ultimate temptress will be sung by Virginie Verrez, and tenor, Robert Watson, as her all-too-brief love interest, Don José, a role he has sung in major houses across Europe and the United States. Flashy bullfighter, Escamillo, will be sung by bass-baritone Seth Caraco, making his house and role debut in a rare return to the US from his base in Germany. THe tragedy is led by three artists making Austin Opera debuts. Austin Opera’s Sarah and Ernest Butler Principal Conductor & Artistic Advisor, Timothy Myers, will conduct.


Conductor

    Timothy Myers

    Sarah and Ernest Butler Music Director

    Rebecca Herman
    Director

Cast

    Cecelia Hall*
    Carmen

    Richard Trey Smagur*
    Don José

    Seth Carico*+
    Escamillo

    Raquel González*
    Micaëla

English

Carmen by Bizet, De (2024/2024), Dirigit per Rebecca Herman,, Director musical Timothy Myers, The Long Center, Austin, United States

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