carmen

“She was born free, she will die free” — in order to preserve her freedom, Carmen even accepts her own death. With her uncompromising desire for autonomy, she broke the morals of her time. This sets her apart from the many passive, sacrificing female figures of nineteenth-century opera — once as a subject of scandal, later as a figure of identification, always as a large projection screen. Director Ole Anders Tandberg picks up on these ambivalences and works with iconic images: the bright red flamenco dress, the Torero costume and the bullring. But these symbols do not go uncommented, but are exaggerated to the point of grotesque and macabre. An emotional rollercoaster with catchy tunes like the Habanera and the Toréador song that will be remembered for a long time. Argentinian conductor Alejo Pérez, GMD of the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, makes his debut at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. Gaëlle Arquez provides charm and refinement as French Carmen, and later our new ensemble member Kristina Stanek introduces herself as the new Berlin Carmen.

Opera in four acts by Georges Bizet Libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy based on the novella of the same name by Prosper Mérimée Premiered on March 3, 1875 in Paris Premiere at the Deutsche Oper Berlin on January 20, 2018