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Georges Bizet: Carmen

Staging team

Cast

The first night of Bizet’s Carmen in Paris in 1875 passed almost unnoticed, without success. Only eight years after Bizet’s death did Carmen triumphantly enter opera houses and ever since has been one of the most frequently staged operas. Librettists Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy were inspired by Prosper Merimé’s extensive novelette on beautiful and reckless Carmen, whose volatile life is ended by the hand of the refused lover, and rendered the story as an impressive tragedy imbued with dazzling Spanish atmosphere. Bizet’s masterpiece still fascinates contemporary audiences by the magnificent color of the orchestra, the sense of engrossing drama and splendid melodic arias.

Premiere: Mar 11, 2004

Running time: 2 hours 55 minutes with 1 intermission
Performed in French with Czech and English captions.

Performance on December 16, 2008

This performance of Carmen is taking place as part of the French Season, under the auspices of the Ambassador of France to the Czech Republic, His Excellency Charles Fries.

The French Season is being held under the patronage of Karel Schwarzenberg, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, and Bernard Kouchner, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the French Republic.

Saison Culturel

Response in the press

“This sumptuous production does everything Carmen is supposed to do: capture the combustible mix of love, jealousy and divided loyalties; dazzle the audience with colorful dance and choral pieces; and mirror the energy of the music with brisk pacing and captivating set pieces.”

(Frank Kuznik, The Prague Post, March 24, 2004)

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The Prague State Opera - Theatre History in Pictures and Dates - Book cover
The Prague State Opera – Theatre History in Pictures and Dates
Tomáš Vrbka
The Prague State Opera in cooperation with the Slovart publishing house publishes a representative book tracking the history of this significant cultural institution since its opening in 1888 till the end of the 2002/2003 season. The publication called The Prague State Opera – Theatre History in Pictures and Dates is focusing solely on the opera featured at the scene, even though the theatre under various names also served to presentation of drama plays, operettas and ballet. The Prague State opera plans to publish the volumes concentrating on those genres in the next years.

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