Carmen by Bizet, sön 12 okt 2014, Från (2014/2014), Regisserad av Ana Zamora, Dirigent Yi-Chen Lin, Teatro de la Zarzuela, Madrid, Spanien

The decision in 1887-1888 by conductor Gerónimo Giménez and impresario Felipe Ducazcal to programme Carmen for the Spanish theatre as a zarzuela in four acts based on the story from a novel by Prosper Mérimée, with the music of composer Georges Bizet, was a brave one for its time. They had made the figure of Carmen their own, one which would soon represent more than a simple nod to couleur locale , characteristic of mid19th century French exoticism, to become not only one of the greatest legendary figures in music, but to form part of the Art of the 20th century. To bring Carmen back to the stage as a zarzuela today means recouping the first version which was staged in Spain at this same theatre with the spoken parts, as well as recognizing that the Zarzuela is not an independent musical form. Rather, on the contrary, it has always drawn on theatrical and musical genres from other countries.