Act I

Act II

Act III

Act IV

Couv_Carmen_780x9063

Libretto

Vannina Santoni (Frasquita) et Ildar Abdrazakov (Escamillo) dans Carmen, Opéra Bastille, 2017

2016-17-CARM-350

Interview with Vannina Santoni

“Carmen will never surrender, born free, free will she die”cries Bizet’s heroine to Don José at the end of the opera. This irrepressible freedom, coupled with a need to live ever more intensely on a knife-edge, is present in Calixto Bieito’s production as in no other. Of Mérimée’s character, Bieito’s Carmen retains her thoroughly Iberian contours and the burning temperament of a woman who lives by small-time trafficking. However, the rebel bird is essentially a creature of our own times. A brazen and indomitable seductress and a product of social and masculine brutality, she lives life in the fast lane, avid for existence. Orchestre et Choeurs de l’Opéra national de Paris Maîtrise des Hauts-de-Seine Chœur d’enfants de l’Opéra national de ParisA co-production of the Opéra national de Paris and Camera lucida productions. With the participation of France Télévisions, in partnership with Radio Classique. With the support of the Orange Foundation, patron of the Paris Opera's audiovisual broadcasts, and the Centre National du Cinéma et de l'image animée.Director: François-René Martin © Opéra national de Paris - Camera lucida productions - 2017Picture: © Vincent Pontet / OnP

Carmen: A gypsy girl, working as a cigar-maker in a tobacco factory in Seville Don José: A soldier and Carmen’s lover who deserts the army for her Micaela: A young girl originally from Don José’s village Escamillo: A toreador and one of Carmen’s lovers Frasquita and Mercedes: Two gypsy girls who are friends of Carmen Zuniga: Don José’s superior officer Morales: A regimental comrade of Don José Le Dancaïre and Remendado: Two smugglers

Carmen

fr / en

Performance at the Bastille Opera, from 15 june to 25 february 2022

“Carmen will never surrender, born free, free will she die”cries Bizet’s heroine to Don José at the end of the opera. This irrepressible freedom, coupled with a need to live ever more intensely on a knife-edge, is present in Calixto Bieito’s producti

Georges Bizet

Born on October 25, 1838 in Paris to a family of musicians, Georges Bizet studied piano at an early age and was admitted to the Paris Conservatoire at 10, where he studied with Halévy. His brilliant studies culminated in 1857 when he won the Prix de Rome. The same year, his first stage work, the one-act operetta Le Docteur miracle performed at the Bouffes Parisiens and was awarded a prize by Offenbach, shared with Lecocq. During the next three years that he spent in Rome, he composed an opera buffa, Don Procopio. But his first operas, Les Pêcheurs de perles (The Pearl Fishers, 1863) and La Jolie Fille de Perth (The Fair Maid of Perth, 1866) were not successful. Djamileh composed to Musset and performed in 1872 at the Opéra Comique, or his incidental music composed for Daudet’s play L’Arlésienne and staged in October 1st at the Vaudeville, were both failures. However, an orchestral suite derived from L’Arlésienne and performed at the Concerts Pasdeloup in December, was instantly popular. Encouraged by this success, Bizet began composing Carmen, interrupted by the writing of a grand opera based on Corneille, Don Rodrigue, which remained unfinished after the fire that burned the opera house where it was to be performed. Sadly, the premiere of Carmen was another failure that hastened his end. He died on June 3, 1875 in Bougival, at only 37 years old.

Elīna Garanča was born into a musical family in the Latvian capital Riga. She first joined the Meiningen Staatstheater in Germany, before performing leading roles at the Frankfurt and Vienna Staatsopers. Her repertoire includes, among others, the title role in Carmen (Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Bayerische Staatsoper Munich, Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía Valencia, Metropolitan Opera New York). The production of Carmen at the Metropolitan Opera New York has been shown in over 1,000 cinemas around the world and is one of the most widely viewed 'Live in HD' shows. In the role of Kundry (Parsifal), Elīna Garanča became the first Latvian singer to sing at the Bayreuth Festival, in 2023. Her recent engagements include her role debut as Amneris (Aïda) at the Vienna Staatsoper and the “Summer Night’s concert” of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, with Yannick Nézet-Séguin, broadcast in over 80 countries, including 30 live shows. This season sees her in many festivals and galas across Europe, North and South America. In September 2005, Elīna Garanča became an exclusive Deutsche Grammophon artist. Her discography includes the albums ‘Aria Cantilena’, ‘Romantique’ and ‘Meditation’ (ECHO Klassik Award), ‘Sol y Vida’. Her first solo recital album was released in 2020 and the album ‘Live from Salzburg’ was recorded during the 2020 and 2021 Salzburg Festivals with the Wiener Philharmoniker and Christian Thielemann. Elīna Garanča has performed 18 roles over more than 160 performances at the Vienna Staatsoper and was awarded the title Kammersängerin for her dedication to the institution. She appears regularly at the Metropolitan Opera New York, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Bayerische Staatsoper Munich, Carnegie Hall and Wigmore Hall.



At the Paris Opera: Così fan tutte (Dorabella), 2005; Der Rosenkavalier (Octavian), 2006; La clemenza di Tito (Sesto), 2006; Werther (Charlotte), 2016; Carmen (title role), 2017; Cavalleria rusticana (Santuzza), 2016; Don Carlo (Princess Eboli), 2017

Garanca.Elina 5 (c) 

Throughout his thirty-year career, Roberto Alagna has amassed a repertoire that includes over sixty roles (Alfredo, Manrico, Nemorino, Calaf, Radamès, Rodolfo, Don José, Mario, Werther…). In 2014, he performed the title role in Otello at the Chorégies d’Orange Festival and then went on to expand his repertoire with the roles of Eléazar in La Juive (Munich, 2016), Samson in Samson et Dalila (Vienna, 2018), and the title role in Andrea Chénier (London, 2019). He also likes to explore lesser-known works, such as Massenet’s Le Jongleur de Notre-Dame, Le Cid and La Navarraise, Lalo’s Fiesque, Alfano’s Cyrano de Bergerac, Zandonai’s Francesca da Rimini, Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, Chausson’s Le Roi Arthus, and Meyerbeer’s Vasco de Gama... Two operas have even been written for him, Vladimir Cosma’s Marius et Fanny and David Alagna’s The Last Day of a Condemned Man. He makes regular forays into the realms of popular music. Indeed, his Little Italy singing tour, a tribute to his origins and Italian musical culture in all its variety, has taken him to over fifteen French cities. In June 2014, he took part in a special performance in Fez entitled Mediterraneo, which featured sacred and traditional works and works from the opera repertoire. He has participated in numerous events ranging from singing La Marseillaise on the Champs-Elysées on July 14, 2005 to performing in a concert in the gardens of the Château de Versailles in 2009 under the baton of Michel Plasson. He has also appeared in several films, including Benoît Jacquot’s Tosca in 2001 and Barbara Willis Sweete’s Romeo and Juliet in 2002. His discography, on the Erato, Sony, EMI, and Deutsche Grammophon labels covers a wide range of recordings: from full-length performances to duos, oratorios, collections of great lyrical works, operas, sacred arias, and songs. Credo, Viva Opéra, Airs de Berlioz, Bel canto, Robertissimo, Luis Mariano, Sicilien, Pasión, and My Life is an Opera (which illustrates his life and his career through fifteen original arias and duets) Malèna (a tribute to the Neapolitan and Sicilian songbooks), and Puccini in Love (with Aleksandra Kurzak) are just some of the many albums that make up a catalogue that bears testimony to the musical eclecticism which has marked his career. During the 2019-2020 Season, he sang in Don Carlo at the Paris Opera, Pagliacci and Cavalleria rusticana at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Pagliacci at London’s Royal Opera House, Turandot at the Vienna Staatsoper, Fedora (Loris Ipanov) at Milan’s La Scala, and Otello at the Munich Festival.

Roberto Alagna

Maria Agresta began her career in 2007. After winning several competitions, she achieved her first major public and critical success in 2011 in I Vespri siciliani at Turin’s Teatro Regio, under the baton of Gianandrea Noseda. Soon thereafter, she was invited all over the world to sing numerous parts including the title role in Norma in Tel Aviv, Mimi in La Bohème at the Verona Arena, Munich’s Bavarian State Opera, Naples’ Teatro San Carlo, Turin’s Teatro Regio and the Torre del Lago Puccini Festival, Gemma di Vergy at Bergamo’s Teatro Donizetti, Elvira (Don Giovanni), Mimi (La Bohème), and Leonora (Oberto, Conte di San Bonifacio) at Milan’s La Scala. She has also appeared in La Traviata at the Berlin Staatsoper, Il Trovatore at Valencia’s Teatro Bellas Artes with Zubin Mehta conducting, and Carmen (Micaela) in Masada. She earned particular praise for her performance in a concert version of Verdi's Giovanna d’Arco at the Musikverein in Graz. In 2014, she was awarded Italy’s Franco Abbiati Music Critics Prize. She also sang the role of Amelia in Simon Boccanegra at the Rome Opera under Riccardo Muti and at the Dresden Semperoper under Christian Thielemann and then played Amalia in I Masnadieri and Mimi at La Fenice in Venice. She has performed in Verdi’s Requiem Mass at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples with Nicola Luisotti and at the Berlin Staatsoper with Daniel Barenboim. She also appeared in Otello (Desdemona) in Valencia, with Zubin Mehta conducting, and in Spontini’s La Vestale at Dresden’s Semperoper. More recently, she appeared in La Traviata in Munich, Berlin and the Verona Arena, Otello in Zurich, Genova and London’s Royal Opera House Covent Garden, I Puritani (Elvira), La Bohème and Carmen (Micaela) at the Paris Opera, Simon Boccanegra in Dresden with Christian Thielemann, I due Foscari (Lucrezia Contarini) with Antonio Pappano conducting and Il Trovatore (Leonora) at London’s Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Norma in Zurich, Turin, the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris and the Teatro Real in Madrid, Il Trovatore, and Turandot (Liu) under the baton of Riccardo Chailly and Verdi’s Requiem (with Zubin Mehta) at Milan’s La Scala. She also sang the roles of Micaela, Mimi, Liu and Leonora (Il Trovatore) at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. During the 2017-2018 season, she will be singing the role of Alice Ford (Falstaff) at the Berlin Staatsoper and the title role in Luisa Miller at the Zurich Opera.

Maria Agresta

After winning prizes in numerous international competitions, Ildar Abdrazakov sang the title role in Rossini’s Moses at Milan’s La Scala in 2003 under the baton of Riccardo Muti (DVD). (DVD). He made his debut at the Salzburg Festival in the same role in 2009. He has performed in many of the world’s great opera houses where he sang the roles of Selim in Il Turco in Italia, Don Basilio in the Barber of Seville, Assur in Semiramide, Alidoro in La Cenerentola, Figaro in Le Nozze di Figaro (a role in which he made his debut appearance at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg in 1998), and Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor. He also played Leporello and the title role in Don Giovanni. His other roles include Mephistopheles—first in Faust, then La Damnation de Faust and finally Boito’s Mefistofele—Oroveso in Norma, the title roles in Attila and Oberto, Banco in Macbeth, Philip II in Don Carlo, Procida in Les Vêpres Siciliennes, Walter in Luisa Miller, and the four demonic roles in Les contes d’Hoffmann… Invited regularly to the Metropolitan Opera, he made his first appearances there performing the roles of Henry VIII (Anna Bolena, 2011), Dosifey (Khovanshchina, 2012) and the title role in Prince Igor (DVD Deutsche Grammophon) in 2014. He also sang the title role in Attila under the baton of Riccardo Muti, as well as Escamillo in Carmen, Figaro, Don Giovanni, Leporello, Assur in Semiramide, and Banco in Macbeth. More recently, he played Mustafà (L’Italiana in Algeri) at the Vienna Staatsoper, the Metropolitan Opera and the Salzburg Festival, Mephistopheles (Faust) at the Paris Opera, the Teatro Regio in Turin and the Salzburg Festival, Silva (Ernani) in Salzburg, Geneva and Milan, Attila at the Mariinsky Theatre and Milan’s La Scala, Don Basilio (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Escamillo (Carmen) and the title role in Boris Godunov at the Paris Opera, the title role in Don Giovanni at the Metropolitan Opera, Philip II (Don Carlo) at the Bayerische Staatsoper, the Bolshoi Theatre, London’s Royal Opera House Covent Garden and the Paris Opera, and Alfonso d’Este (Lucrezia Borgia) at the Salzburg Festival. During the 2019-2020 season, he sang the title role in Prince Igor at the Paris Opera, Méphistophélès (La Damnation de Faust) at the Metropolitan Opera, Philip II in Salzburg, Munich and Dresden, and Attila at the Baden-Baden Festival. He has recorded two solo albums, Power Players (featuring some of the great Russian basso roles) and Verdi, as well as an album of French and Italian Opera duets with Rolando Villazón. He is also the artistic director of the Elena Obraztsova International Academy in Saint Petersburg.

Adbrazakov-Ildar-©-Sergey-Misenko

Grappe

Rougier.François

François Lis

Ballestra.Jean-Luc

Vannina Santoni studied at the Paris Conservatoire and was particularly noted for her performance of the title role in La Traviata in 2018 at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées. In recent seasons, she portrayed Juliette (Roméo et Juliette) at Teatro alla Scala in Milan, the title role in Manon with the Orchestre national de Lyon conducted by Daniele Rustioni, Mélisande (Pelléas et Mélisande) under the baton of François-Xavier Roth and directed by Éric Ruf at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, and Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte) in a production by Laurent Pelly with the Concert d'Astrée conducted by Emmanuelle Haïm at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées. Recently, Vannina Santoni made her house debut at Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona in the role of Liu (Turandot). She also sang Mimi (La Bohème) at Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse, Fiordiligi at the Zurich Opernhaus and Mélisande in Lille with François-Xavier Roth. She made her debut in the title role of Iphigénie en Tauride in Montpellier. Her concert repertoire includes Messa di Requiem (Verdi) for the Rocamadour Festival and Stabat Mater (Poulenc) for the Rheingau music Festival under the baton of Alain Altinoglu. She also sang, for the first time, Strauss’ Vier letzte Lieder with the Mahlerian Camerata conducted by Benjamin Garzia at the Vichy Opera.

At the Paris Opera: Carmen (Frasquita), 2017; The Magic Flute (Pamina), 2019; Le Soulier de satin (Dona Musique / la Bouchère), 2021

Santoni.Vannina (c) Jérémy Torres

Born in Strasbourg, Antoinette Dennefeld studied at the Haute École de Musique de Lausanne. Winner of several international prizes, she has appeared at the Opéra national de Paris, Opéra Comique, Opéra national de Lyon, Opéra de Marseille, Opéra de Dijon, Opéra national du Rhin, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Opéra de Lausanne, Opéra de Ténérife.... Her repertoire includes the roles of Dorabella (Così fan tutte), Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni), Rosina (The Barber of Seville), Isolier (Count Ory), Charlotte (Werther), the title role in Carmen, Concepción (L'Heure espagnole), Prince Charmant (Cendrillon), Isabelle (Yvonne, Princess of Burgundia). Recently, she has performed the roles of Meg (Falstaff) at the Aix-en-Provence Festival and in Lyon, Carmen in Strasbourg and Mulhouse, Charlotte in Marseille, Hermia (A Midsummer night's dream) in Lille, Régina (La Princesse de Trébizonde) with the London Symphony Orchestra, the title role in La Périchole at Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Opéra de Dijon and Opéra de Toulon, Mélisande (Pelléas et Mélisande) with the Orchestre national de France. Recent and future engagements include the roles of Giselle (Magnard's Guercœur) at Opéra national du Rhin, the title role in La Périchole at Opéra Royal de Wallonie, Romeo (Les Capulet et les Montaigu) in concert version in Toulon, Psyché in concert in Budapest and Vienna and Carmen in Lausanne. At the Paris Opera: La Traviata (Flora Bervoix), 2016; Cavalleria rusticana (Lola), 2016; Carmen (Mercédès), 2017; La Clémence de Titus (Annio), 2017; Yvonne, princesse de Bourgogne (Isabelle), 2020; Cendrillon (Prince Charmant), 2022; Les Contes d'Hoffmann (Giulietta), 2023

Dennefeld.Antoinette 2 (c) 

Born in Miranda de Ebro (Burgos), Calixto Bieito has been director of Barcelona's Teatre Romea, the Festival International des Arts de Castilla y Léon and Barcelona International Teatre (BIT). From 2013 to 2015, he was artist-in-residence at the Théâtre de Bâle. Since 2017, he has been artistic director of Bilbao's Teatro Arriaga. Since the early 2000s, he has devoted himself to directing opera, while continuing to work for the theater.Carmen at the Peralada Festival, Shakespeare's Macbeth at the Salzburg Festival, Hamlet at the Edinburgh Festival, Don Giovanni in Hanover and The Abduction from the Seraglio at Berlin's Komische Oper have established his reputation as one of the most controversial yet exciting directors of his generation.Previous productions include Zimmermann's Les Soldats (Zurich, Berlin, Madrid), Hèctor Parra's Wilde at the Schwetzingen Festival, Tannhäuser at the Flanders and Venice Operas, The Fairy Queen in Stuttgart, La Juive at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, La Forza del destino at English National Opera, Xenakis' Oresteia in Basel, Les Troyens in Nuremberg, Moses und Aaron and Le Grand Macabre at the Semperoper Dresden, Elias at Theater an der Wien, Hèctor Parra's Les Bienveillantes at the Flanders Opera, José María Usandizaga's Mendi Mendiyan at Teatro Arriaga.In recent seasons, he has directed Carmen and Tristan und Isolde in Vienna, Lohengrin at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin, St John's Passion at the Théâtre du Châtelet, Rudi Stephan's Die ersten Menschen in Amsterdam, La Guerre et la Paix in Geneva, Erwin Schulhoff's Kátia Kabanová and Flammen in Prague, Joachim Raff's Samson in Weimar, Gustav Mahler's Von der Liebe Tod at the Vienna Staatsoper, Eliogabalo at the Zurich Opera and Giulio Cesare in Egitto in Amsterdam.This season, he will be directing Mahomet II in Naples, Hèctor Parra's Orgia in Barcelona and Kurt Weill's Der Silbersee in Mannheim.At the Paris Opera: Lear, 2016; Carmen, 2017; Simon Boccanegra, 2018; The Exterminating Angel (2024)

Alfons Flores made his professional debuts as a set designer in 1978 with the GAT Company, which he co-founded, in L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona. He imagines set designs for the theater, the opera, urban scenography and other major events, and regularly works with artists such as Calixto Bieto, Joan Lluís Bozzo, Carlos Wagner, Guy Joosten, as well as Àlex Ollé and Carlus Padrissa for La Fura dels Baus.&nbsp;His opera designs credits include works for the Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona, the Teatro Real, Madrid, the English National Opera and Royal Opera House, London, La Scala, Milan, La Monnaie, Brussels, the Paris Opera, and the opera houses in Lyon, Sydney, Frankfurt and Stuttgart.&nbsp;His most striking set designs include Carmen (1999), Un ballo in maschera (2000, 2010, 2013), Don Giovanni and Die Fledermaus (2002), Il Seraglio (2004), Wozzeck (2005 et 2009), La fanciulla del West (2007), Le Grand Macabre (2009), Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny and Adriana Lecouvreur (2010), Quartett, Tristan und Isolde and Œdipe (2011), Le Duc d’Albe (2012), Erwartung and Le Prisonnier (2013), Madama Butterfly, Daphné and The Flying Dutchman (2014), L’Elisir d’amore, Pelléas et Mélisande and Il Trovatore (2015), Don Carlos, Norma and La Bohème (2016), Alceste and Jeanne d’Arc au bûcher (2017), Frankenstein, Turandot and Manon Lescaut (2019), Ariane et Barbe-Bleue and Carmen (2021) and Le Nez (2022).&nbsp;His work was awarded by the Barcelonian Critics Theater Award in 1996, 1998 and 2009. In 2000, he won the Irish Times Theater Award for his set designs for the Barbaric Comedies. In 2017, he was nominated at the International Opera Awards in the Best Set Designers category.

Mercè Paloma studied Art History at University of Barcelona. She is regularly working with Calixto Bieito.&nbsp;She created the costumes for Barbaric Comedies at the Edinburgh Festival, Life is a dream in Barcelona and Edinburgh, La casa de Bernada Alba, El Barberillo de Lavapies and The Tempest in Madrid, Shakespeare’s Macbeth at the Salzburg Festival, Pierrot lunaire in Barcelona, Così fan tutte and Die Fledermaus at the Welsh National Opera, Don Giovanni and Un ballo in maschera at the English National Opera and the Royal Danish Opera, Il Seraglio at the Komische Oper in Berlin, Pagliacci and Cavalleria rusticana at the Hanover Staatsoper, La fanciulla del West at the Stuttgart Staatstheater, Tosca, Wozzeck, Un ballo in maschera and La Cabeza del Bautista at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Madama Butterfly, Samson et Dalila at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Love Life in Freiburg, Don Giovanni and La Grande Duchesse de Gerolstein in Aachen, Colomer’s El Pintor at the Teatro Real in Madrid, L'italiana in Algeri and Ariadne auf Naxos at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Lohengrin in Chemnitz, Il Trovatore at the Helsinki Opera, Parsifal at the Stuttgart Staatsoper, Carmen in Oslo, San Francisco, Budapest, Palermo, Vienna…&nbsp;She is also designing for Spanish and Catalan cinema and television, and she received the Barcelona Critics Theatre Award 2007 and Gaudí Film Awards for Pa negre, Stella cadente, La vampira de Barcelona and El fotógrafo de Mauthausen.

Alberto Rodríguez Vega made his professional debut in 1992 with some alternative companies in Madrid, for which he designed lighting designs, while continuing his studies. He went on working with various theatre and dance companies, such as El Teatro de Danza Española led by Luisillo. He studied cinematography at the Madrid Film School (ECAM). He worked on several movies, such as Mercado de Futuros (2011) and El cielo gira (2004), directed by Mercedes Álvarez, and awarded at the Rotterdam Festival. From 1999 to 2000, he worked at the Teatro María Guerrero as assistant technical director. In 2002, he began a regular collaboration with the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, both as director of photography and lighting designer. He created the lighting for the recital to celebrate the 50th anniversary of José Carreras' debut, for Me llaman la Primorosa with soprano Ángeles Blancas, La Ventafocs, El retablo de Maese Pedro with the Company Etcetera. He has worked with directors such as Calixto Bieito, Ivo Van Hove, Stefan Herheim, Joan Anton Rechi, Gilbert Deflo, Konrad Zschiedrich, Emiliá Carilla, Jordi Coca, Boris Rotenstein, artists such as Karen Ackers, José Carreras, Andrea Marcovicci, Adriana Varela, Barbara Cook and plastic artists such as Marcel·lí Antúnez. He has worked in venues such as La Fenice (Venice), the Opéra national de Lyon, the Teatro Massimo (Palermo), the Paris Opera, the Teatro Regio (Turin), the Teatro Real (Madrid), the Teatro Akademia, the Teatro Arriaga, the Teatro Baluarte (Pamplona), the Teatro Calderón (Valladolid). During Season 2021/22, he designed the lightings for Madama Butterfly (Teatro de la Maestranza, Seville), The Magic Flute (Teatro Campoamor, Oviedo), Carmen (Vienna Staatsoper), Faust (La Fenice, Venice), The Fairy Queen (Festival Castell, Peralada).

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Interview with Vannina Santoni

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Interview with Vannina Santoni