Carmen

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 sure to impress 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. First staged as a new production in 2021 with Covid-19 infection prevention measures in place, this production will be recreated with those restrictions lifted.

Rising star Samantha Hankey will play the attention-drawing role of Carmen, with a beautiful voice that combines strength and softness as well as striking dramatic expression. And another can't-miss performance comes from Atalla Ayan--a Brazilian tenor now rapidly gaining prominence in Europe and North America--in the role of Don José. Lukasz Golinski, renowned for performing the roles of Escamillo and King Roger, will appear as Escamillo here. Conducting will be Gaetano d'Espinosa, who stepped in suddenly in 2022 to conduct Der fliegende Holländer and L'elisir d'amore at the NNTT, and has earned high praise for interpretations of Wagner and bel canto that capture their best qualities.