Georges Bizet<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Opera<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Hal\u00e9vy based on an eponymous novella by Prosper M\u00e9rim\u00e9e. World premiere: 3 March 1875 at the Op\u00e9ra-Comique, Paris. First performance at the Astana Opera House: 17-18 November 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Opera in 4 acts<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Performed in French<\/p>\n\n\n\n (accompanied by simultaneous Kazakh and Russian subtitles)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Act I<\/p>\n\n\n\n A square in Seville<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Soldiers, feeling bored, wander around the square and comment on the passers-by. Mica\u00ebla appears among the crowd, seeking Don Jos\u00e9, for whom she has a message from his mother. The soldiers tell that he will come soon, but the girl decides to leave. Jos\u00e9 arrives as the guards change shifts. The brisk cigarette women come out of the factory to the square. The gypsy Carmen is the most beautiful, and all the men are enchanted by her. Only one man pays no attention to Carmen: Don Jos\u00e9. He loves Mica\u00ebla, and promised his mother to marry her. Offended at Jos\u00e9\u2019s coldness, Carmen throws a flower at him. Jos\u00e9 is surprised and annoyed by her insolence, but picks up the flower. At this moment, Mica\u00ebla returns and gives Jos\u00e9 a letter and a kiss from his mother. A fight erupts inside the factory between the cigarette women. Zuniga decides to arrest the culprit — Carmen. Jos\u00e9 is ordered to take her to prison. Carmen promises her love to the escort, if he helps her to escape. Jos\u00e9 cannot resist the charm of the gypsy girl and obeys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Act II<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lillas Pastia\u2019s Tavern<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Carmen dances and sings in a tavern with her friends, Merc\u00e9d\u00e8s and Frasquita, waiting for Jos\u00e9 to return. He was sent to prison and demoted to the rank of soldier for letting Carmen slip away, and has just been released.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Outside, a chorus and procession announces the arrival of the toreador Escamillo, the illustrious bullfighter of Granada. The soldiers invite him to drink with them, and he agrees. Having seen Carmen in the tavern, he begins paying court to her, but she remains indifferent. Jos\u00e9 enters the tavern; Carmen is glad and ready to dance only for him. However, a trumpet signals that he must return to the barracks for an evening inspection. He is hesitating over whether to choose his duty or love. Carmen is offended by the fact that Jos\u00e9 prefers his service to her. Captain Zuniga shows up in the tavern to see Carmen and orders Don Jos\u00e9 to leave. Jos\u00e9 refuses. A fight ensues, the smugglers burst in and tie up Zuniga. Jos\u00e9 now has no choice but to join Carmen and the smugglers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Act III<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the mountains<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Jos\u00e9, exhausted by remorse and tired of hard life in the mountains, finds out that his relationship with Carmen is not the same. Carmen is reading her fortune in cards. However, no matter how much she shuffles them, she only sees her death. Mica\u00ebla appears; she has traveled a long way, looking for Jos\u00e9, and tries to persuade him to return home. She is frightened when a shot rings out. It is Jos\u00e9, who has fired at an intruder, sneaking into the smugglers\u2019 hideout. The intruder turns out to be Escamillo, who admits that he has come to meet Carmen. After a short conversation, the outraged Jos\u00e9 challenges him to a duel. Carmen arrives and interrupts the fight. The smugglers discover Mica\u00ebla, who has hidden. She begs Jos\u00e9 to return home to his mother, who is dying and wants to forgive him. Jos\u00e9 agrees, but before he leaves, he threatens Carmen, with whom he is still madly in love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Act IV<\/p>\n\n\n\n A square in front of the arena in Seville<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n The square is full of spectators who cheer the participants of the bullfight; among them are Escamillo and Carmen who is in love with him. Frasquita and Merc\u00e9d\u00e8s warn Carmen that Jos\u00e9 is nearby hiding in the crowd and watching her, and she should better leave. Carmen decides to stay and talk to him. Everyone leaves to watch a bullfight. Jos\u00e9 appears and pleads with Carmen to return to him, he begs her to give up everything and start a new life, leaving for another country. However, Carmen remains adamant: she no longer loves him. She takes off the ring he once gave her and throws it at Jos\u00e9. In despair, Jos\u00e9 stabs Carmen with a dagger.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Hal\u00e9vy based on an eponymous novella by Prosper M\u00e9rim\u00e9e. World premiere: 3 March 1875 at the Op\u00e9ra-Comique, Paris. First performance at the Astana Opera House: 17-18 November 2017.<\/p>\n