Carmen is one of the most popular operas ever written. The drama unfolds around the free-spirited Carmen and the earnest Don José, who are fatefully bound in both love and death. This work brims with familiar music, including the lively prelude, "Habanera", which accompanies Carmen's appearance on stage, "Seguidilla", by which Carmen beguiles Don José, the spectacular "Les tringles des sistres tintatient (La Chanson Bohême)" and the showy "Votre toast, je peux vous le render (Toreador Aria)". Bizet's music melds enchanting sounds of French Romanticism with passionate Spanish music incorporating folk timbres, to astonish and captivate audiences.

This production of Carmen, created by Àlex Ollé for the NNTT in 2021, is packed with Ollé's distinctive sense of the spectacular and innovative interpretations that impressed the audience.This is the love story of Carmen--a woman who lives her life freely with modern intelligence, bravery and defiance--and José--a possessive and jealous man who cannot accept rejection. And today, in an era when this is a tragedy that could happen anywhere, it is a story that resonates particularly deeply with the younger generation.

Viewing Period:3 October, 12:00 JST - 28 November, 12:00 JST

Recorded on 8 March 2025
Performed at Opera Palace, New National Theatre Tokyo

• Creative staff & Cast

Conductor: Gaetano D'ESPINOSA
Production: Àlex OLLÉ
Set Design: Alfons FLORES
Costume Design: Lluc CASTELLS
Lighting Design: Marco FILIBECK

Carmen: Samantha HANKEY
Don José: Atalla AYAN
Escamillo: Lukasz GOLINSKI
Micaëla: ITO Hare
Zuniga: TANAKA Taiki
Moralès: MORIGUCHI Kenji
Le Dancaïre: NARITA Hiroyuki
Le Remendado: ITOGA Shuhei
Frasquita: TOMIHIRA Akiko
Mercédès: SOGO Shoko

Chorus Master: MISAWA Hirofumi
Chorus: New National Theatre Chorus
Children Chorus: TOKYO FM Boys Choir
Orchestra: Tokyo Symphony Orchestra