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Organization

Singer

Mezzo-soprano

Anita Rachvelishvili

Carmen

Christine Rice

Anna Caterina Antonacci

Tenor

Roberto Alagna

Don José

Younghon Lee

Baritone

Vito Priante

Escamillo

Kostas Smoriginas

Soprano

Veronica Cangemi

Michaela

Sarah Fox

Ashley Riches

Morales

Michel de Souza

Simona Mihai

Frasquita

Anush Hovhannisyan

Bass

Nicolas Courjal

Zuniga

Nadezhda Karyazina

Mercedes

Rachel Kelly

Adrian Clarke

Dancaire

Stuart Patterson

Remendado

Conductor

Daniel Oren

Stage director

Francesca Zambello

Set designer

Tanya McCallin

Lighting designer

Paule Constable

Choreographer

Arthur Pita

Assistant Director

Greg Eldridge

Royal Opera House

French

London

United Kingdom

English

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Spanish heat and gypsy passion are brought to the stage in Francesca Zambello's vivid production of Bizet's opera.

The Habanera is the aria Carmen sings when she first appears on stage. It is also known as 'L'amour est un oiseau rebelle'.

Carmen was based on a popular novella of the same name by Prosper Mérimée, which enticed French readers with exotic tales of Spain. Its heady combination of passion, sensuality and violence initially proved too much for the stage and Georges Bizet's opera was a critical failure on its premiere in 1875. Bizet died shortly after, never learning of the spectacular success Carmen would achieve -- it has been staged over 500 times at Covent Garden alone.

Carmen contains many well-loved numbers, such as Carmen's seductive Habanera and Escamillo's rousing Toreador's song, in which he celebrates the thrill of the bullfight. Richly coloured designs capture the sultry heat of the Spanish sun, while ranks of soldiers, crowds of peasants, gypsies and bullfighters bring 19th-century Seville alive. This combination of memorable music, vivid setting and dramatic story have made Carmen one of the most popular operas in the world.

Carmen - Habanera (Bizet; Anna Caterina Antonacci, The Royal Opera)

Carmen by Bizet, From (2013/2014), Directed by Francesca Zambello,, Conductor Daniel Oren, Royal Opera House, London, United Kingdom

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