Admin

Organization

Singer

Mezzo-soprano

Anita Rachvelishvili

Carmen

Elena Maximova

Tenor

Jonas Kaufmann

Don José

Bryan Hymel

Yonghoon Lee

Andrea Carè

Baritone

Gábor Bretz

Escamillo

Alexander Vinogradov

Soprano

Sonya Yoncheva

Michaela

Nicole Car

Celine Byrne

Vlada Borovko

Frasquita

Rachel Kelly

Mercedes

Michèle Losier

Adrian Clarke

Dancaire

Grant Doyle

Harry Nicoll

Remendado

Timothy Robinson

Bass

Nicolas Courjal

Zuniga

Samuel Dale Johnson

Morales

Conductor

Bertrand de Billy

Alexander Joel

Stage director

Francesca Zambello

Set designer

Tanya McCallin

Assistant Director

Greg Eldridge

Royal Opera House

French

London

United Kingdom

Private

Public

English

Approved

Grant Doyle as Dancaire

The Royal Opera’s classic production of Bizet’s much-loved opera returns with a host of international stars, including Anita Rachvelishvili, Elena Maximova, ...

Carmen trailer (The Royal Opera)

Jonas Kaufmann as Don José sings the Flower Song 'La fleur que tu m'avais jetée' with Anna Caterina Antonacci as Carmen in Act II of Francesca Zambello's production of Georges Bizet's opera Carmen, The Royal Opera, 2006.

Find out more at http://www.roh.org.uk/carmen


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 – The Flower Song (Jonas Kaufmann, The Royal Opera)

Carmen by Bizet, From (2015/2015), Directed by Francesca Zambello,, Conductor Bertrand de Billy, Alexander Joel, Royal Opera House, London, United Kingdom

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