Performed in the original in French with Czech and English surtitles
The story of the most famous femme fatale in romantic opera. One of the most famous operas, Bizet’s Carmen, with a superb cast of singers on the stage of the Janáček Theatre. The story of the collision of two different worlds, passion and the desire for freedom. Incredible lighting design by Daniel Tesař!
Premiere on 18th March 2016, Janacek Theatre
Because of his foolish passion for a wild gypsy girl, he deserted from the army and became a smuggler, a brigand and eventually a multiple murderer… Then in prison he related his tale to Don José, the main character of the novella by the French writer Prosper Merimée. And it was this slender book which became the basis for one of the most famous operas, which brought its author, the French composer Georges Bizet, worldwide renown, even though the vast majority of his work has long faded into obscurity. Bizet was immediately attracted by Merimée’s story: he loved the exotic themes, and even though he himself had never been in Spain, he was carried away by the atmosphere of the drama. In spite of the rich melodic inventiveness and excellent musical portrayal of the characters and setting, the premiere at Paris’s Comic Opera received an extremely restrained reception from the public and shortly afterwards the thirty-six-year-old composer died suddenly. Its real triumph did not come about until it was performed at Vienna’s Court Opera in October 1875, which put Carmen into the repertoire of all the major international opera houses.
