Carmen
According to OperaBase, after "La Traviata," Carmen is the most popular opera of all time. And no wonder, it has everything, innocence, love, humor, danger, seduction, and murder. Well, no explicit sex, nor drugs, nor rock 'n roll. I have always thought of Carmen as a study in the contrast of innocence vs wordliness. For me that is stated in the contrast between the sweet and devoted Micaela and the weaponized sexuality of protagonist, Carmen. All the males are victims of Carmen's seductive power. Unfotunately for Carmen, she lets loose a weapon she cannot control. The same power that she lives by returns to end her life. I only wish that Bizet would have included Micaela in the final scene to forgive Don José his masculine weakness and walk off stage intent on informing José's mother of her son's tragic end.
Met Opera - 2014 with Anita Rachvelishvili as Carmen, Aleksandrs Antonenko as Don Jose, Ildar Abdrazakov as Escamillo and my favorite Micaela, Anita Hartig.
Metropolitan Opera, 2009
Met Opera 2009 production with Roberto Alagna and Elina Garanca.
Vienna, 1967
Carmen full opera. Conducted by Herbert von Karajan, with Grace Bumbry as Carmen.
Carmen - 2006 Hamburg, Germany
An excellent production from Hamburg, Germany. I love the internationlism -- A French opera depicting the story of a Spanish femme fatale, set in Germany, sung by a Bulgarian mezzo and tenor, an Armenian soprano, and a Serbian baritone. This vibrant production in staged in the Barclay Arena, a covered multi-purpose sports arena that hosts concerts and in this case, opera. Cast:
- Carmen - Nadia Krasteva
- Don José - Bojidar Nikolov
- Micaela - Arpine Rahdjian
- Escamillo - Nikola Mijailovic
Synopsis
Carmen synopsis.
Libretto
Carmen CD booklet including the libretto. The English libretto starts on page 100.
Garanca's Carmen
The beautiful, lithe, Elina Garanca, in her 2014 Met Opera role as Carmen.