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FRIDAY
MARCH 27
7:30 PM
SUNDAY
MARCH 29
3:00 PM
CARMEN
Georges Bizet’s Carmen is set in Seville, Spain, and tells the story of a captivating and fiercely independent woman whose desire for freedom collides with a soldier’s dangerous obsession.
Featuring instantly recognizable melodies like the Habanera and Toreador Song, Bizet’s opera is as musically dazzling as it is dramatically intense.
This passionate new staging is a first for High Point Theatre and features a custom production design in collaboration with Knoxville Opera.
COMPOSED BY
Georges Bizet
LIBRETTO BY
Henri Meilhac & Ludovic Halévy
PREMIERED
March 3, 1875
Opéra-Comique in Paris
Sung in French with English supertitles
Synopsis
Act I
In a bustling Seville square, Carmen, a free-spirited factory worker, captures the attention of everyone —except soldier Don José. Intrigued, she throws him a flower. Later, when she’s arrested for fighting, she seduces Don José into letting her escape, beginning his downfall.
Act II
At a tavern, Carmen and her gypsy friends celebrate. Don José arrives after serving jail time for aiding her escape. When he tries to leave for duty, Carmen mocks his loyalty. A jealous fight breaks out when Don José’s superior, Zuniga, shows up to court her. Forced to flee, Don José joins Carmen’s band of smugglers.
Act III
In the mountains, Carmen grows weary of Don José. When the cards foretell death, she laughs it off. Micaëla, Don José’s childhood sweetheart, arrives to beg him to return home. But first, Don José must confront Escamillo, the bullfighter who now loves Carmen. After a violent clash, Don José agrees to leave—only after hearing his mother is dying.
Act IV
Outside the arena, Escamillo basks in the glory of the crowd. Carmen boldly stays behind to face Don José one last time. He begs her to come back. She refuses. Enraged, Don José stabs her to death as cheers erupt for Escamillo inside the arena.
Love. Jealousy. Freedom. Death. Carmen dies as she lived—on her own terms.
