Film

Met Opera in HD

Carmen

Georges Bizet

January 27, 2024

This event occurred as part of the 23/24 Art On Screen season. This is an archived view.

A modern retelling of this enduring classic stages the action amidst human traffickers.

Acclaimed English director Carrie Cracknell makes her Met debut, reinvigorating the classic story of deadly passion with a staging that moves the action to the present day, amid a band of human traffickers. Mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina leads a powerhouse quartet of stars in the touchstone role of the irresistible femme fatale, alongside tenor Piotr Beczała as Carmen's lover Don José, soprano Angel Blue as the devoted Micaëla, and bass-baritone Kyle Ketelsen as the swaggering Escamillo. Daniele Rustioni conducts Bizet's heart-pounding score.

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The Hop Presents

The Metropolitan Opera HD LIVE
Carmen
Georges Bizet

Saturday, January 27, 1 pm
Loew Auditorium • Dartmouth College • 2024

Cast

(Cast in order of vocal appearance)

Micaëla...... Angel Blue
Carmen...... Aigul Akhmetshina
Don José...... Piotr Beczała
Escamillo...... Kyle Ketelsen

Conductor...... Daniele Rustioni
Production...... Carrie Cracknell
Set Designer...... Michael Levine
Costume Designer...... Tom Scutt
Lighting Designer...... Guy Hoare
Projection Designer...... rocafilm/Roland Horvath
Choreographer...... Ann Yee
Live in HD Director...... Gary Halvorson
Live in HD...... Host Susan Graham

Synopsis

ACT I
A contemporary American industrial town. Outside a cigarette factory, a group of soldiers guarding the border comment on the passersby. A newly-arrived young woman, Micaëla, asks for a soldier named Don José. Moralès, his colleague, tells her that Don José will return when the next shift begins. When the shift change, led by Zuniga, their commanding officer, occurs and José returns, Moralès tells José that Micaëla has been looking for him. The factory bell rings and the men gather to watch the female workers—especially their favorite, Carmen. She tells the men that love is free and obeys no rules. Only one man ignores her: Don José. Carmen throws a flower at him and the women go back to work. José picks up the flower and hides it when Micaëla returns. She brings a letter from José’s mother, who lives in the countryside. After Micaëla leaves, José reads the letter. He is about to throw away the flower when a fight erupts inside the factory between Carmen and another woman. Zuniga sends José in to remove Carmen, but when he brings her back outside, she refuses to answer Zuniga’s questions and José is ordered to lock her up. Left alone with him, she entices José with suggestions of a rendezvous at a private party outside of town. Mesmerized, he agrees to let her get away. As he brings her to the lockup, Don José lets Carmen escape and he is arrested.

ACT II
Carmen and her friends Frasquita and Mercédès entertain a group of locals who have gathered in the cargo hold of a tractor-trailer truck to party. Zuniga tells Carmen that José has just been released from custody. Escamillo, a rodeo star, drives along the freeway with his entourage. The vehicles stop and people spill out onto the road, listening to Escamillo boasting about his profession. He flirts with Carmen, who tells him that she is involved with someone else. Most of the partiers depart with Escamillo, leaving Carmen and her friends with the smugglers Dancaïre and Remendado, who try to convince the women to get involved in their smuggling scheme. Frasquita and Mercédès are willing to help, but Carmen refuses because she is in love. Dancaïre and Remendado withdraw as José approaches. Carmen and José are left at a deserted gas station. Carmen arouses his jealousy by telling him how she danced for Zuniga. She dances for José now, but when a signal sounds in the distance, he says that he must return to duty. Carmen mocks him. To prove his love, José shows her the flower that she threw at him when they met and confesses how its scent helped him hold onto hope while he was in lockup. She is unimpressed: If he really loved her, he would quit the army and join her in a life of freedom in the mountains. José refuses and Carmen tells him to leave. Zuniga arrives at the gas station looking for Carmen and in a jealous rage, José fights him. The smugglers return and disarm Zuniga. José, having assaulted his superior officer, now has no choice but to join them.

Intermission (45 Minutes)

ACT III
The truck, last seen flying down the highway, has crashed at a high mountain pass. Smoke rises from the shattered vehicle and women are climbing out of the back of the truck as smugglers start to remove large boxes of guns to bring them across the border. Carmen and José quarrel and she admits that her love is fading and advises him to return to live with his mother. When Frasquita and Mercédès turn the cards to tell their fortunes, they foresee love and money for themselves, but Carmen’s cards spell death—for her and for José. Micaëla appears, frightened by the remote location and afraid to meet the woman who has turned José into a criminal. She hides when a shot rings out—José has fired at an intruder, who turns out to be Escamillo. He tells José that he has come to find Carmen and the two men fight. The smugglers separate them and Escamillo invites everyone, particularly Carmen, to see him compete in the next rodeo. When he has left, Micaëla emerges and begs José to return home. He agrees when he learns that his mother is dying, but before he leaves, he warns Carmen that they will meet again.

ACT IV
In a vast rodeo arena, a vibrant and noisy crowd gathers. Carmen arrives on Escamillo’s arm, surrounded by his rodeo entourage. Frasquita and Mercédès come to warn her that José is nearby and can be seen watching her. Unafraid, she waits outside the entrance as the crowds enter the arena. José appears and begs Carmen to forget the past and start a new life with him. She calmly tells him that their affair is over: She was born free and will live free until she dies. The crowd is heard cheering Escamillo. José persists in trying to win Carmen back. She takes off his ring and throws it at his feet before heading for the arena. José stabs her to death.

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