
Carmen
Opera by Georges Bizet
July 15 2015 and August 4, 7, 10, 13 2015 – Greek Theatre @ 9.30pm
Direction and Staging: Enrico Castiglione
Costumes: Sonia Cammarata
Festival Euro Mediterraneo Chorus and Symphonic Orchestra
Carmen is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on a novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée.
The opera, written in the genre of opéra comique, tells the story of the downfall of Don José, a naïve soldier who is seduced by the wiles of the fiery Gypsy, Carmen. José abandons his childhood sweetheart and deserts from his military duties, yet loses Carmen’s love to the glamorous toreador Escamillo, after which José kills her in a jealous rage.
The music of Carmen has been widely acclaimed for its brilliance of melody, harmony, atmosphere and orchestration, and for the skill with which Bizet musically represented the emotions and suffering of his characters. After the composer’s death the score was subject to significant amendment, including the introduction of recitative in place of the original dialogue; there is no standard edition of the opera, and different views exist as to what versions best express Bizet’s intentions.
TICKETS on boxol.it and ticketone.it – prices slightly different
Stalls (Parterre) >> Adult: € 108,00 – Under 12: €54,00 – Under 18/Over 65: € 86,40
Gallery >> Adult: € 81,00 – Under 12: €40,50 – Under 18/Over 65: € 64,80
Upper circle (numbered seats) >> Adult: € 59,40 – Under 12: €29,70 – Under 18/Over 65: € 47,50
Upper circle (non-numbered seats) >> Adult: € 32,40 – Under 12: €16,20 – Under 18/Over 65: € 25,90
JULY 15, Wednesday >> TICKETS on boxol.it and ticketone.it
Other dates
AUGUST 4, Tuesday >> TICKETS on boxol.it and ticketone.it
AUGUST 7, Friday >> TICKETS on boxol.it and ticketone.it
AUGUST 10, Monday >> TICKETS on boxol.it and ticketone.it
AUGUST 13, Thursday >> TICKETS on boxol.it and ticketone.it
SYNOPSIS
Place: Seville, Spain, and surrounding hills – Time: Around 1820
Act 1 – A square, in Seville. On the right, a door to the tobacco factory. At the back, a bridge. On the left, a guardhouse.
A group of soldiers relaxes in the square, waiting for the changing of the guard and commenting on the passers-by (“Sur la place, chacun passe”). Micaëla appears, seeking José. Moralès tells her that “José is not yet on duty” and invites her to wait with them. She declines, saying she will return later. José arrives with the new guard, which is greeted and imitated by a crowd of urchins (“Avec la garde montante”). A lithograph of act 1 in the premiere performance, by Pierre-Auguste Lamy, 1875
As the factory bell rings, the cigarette girls emerge and exchange banter with young men in the crowd (“La cloche a sonné”). Carmen enters and sings her provocative habanera on the untameable nature of love (“L’amour est un oiseau rebelle”). The men plead with her to choose a lover, and after some teasing she throws a flower to Don José, who thus far has been ignoring her but is now annoyed by her insolence.
As the women go back to the factory, Micaëla returns and gives José a letter and a kiss from his mother (“Parle-moi de ma mère!”). He reads that his mother wants him to return home and marry Micaëla, who retreats in shy embarrassment on learning this. Just as José declares that he is ready to heed his mother’s wishes, the women stream from the factory in great agitation. Zuniga, the officer of the guard, learns that Carmen has attacked a woman with a knife. When challenged, Carmen answers with mocking defiance (“Tra la la… Coupe-moi, brûle-moi”); Zuniga orders José to tie her hands while he prepares the prison warrant. Left alone with José, Carmen beguiles him with a seguidilla, in which she sings of a night of dancing and passion with her lover—whoever that may be—in Lillas Pastia’s tavern. Confused yet mesmerised, José agrees to free her hands; as she is led away she pushes her escort to the ground and runs off laughing. José is arrested for dereliction of duty.
Act 2 – Lillas Pastia’s Inn
A month has passed. Carmen and her friends Frasquita and Mercédès are entertaining Zuniga and other officers (“Les tringles des sistres tintaient”) in Pastia’s inn. Carmen is delighted to learn of José’s release from a month’s detention. Outside, a chorus and procession announces the arrival of the toreador Escamillo (“Vivat, vivat le Toréro”). Invited inside, he introduces himself with the “Toreador Song” (“Votre toast, je peux vous le rendre”) and sets his sights on Carmen, who brushes him aside. Lillas Pastia hustles the crowds and the soldiers away.
When only Carmen, Frasquita and Mercédès remain, the smugglers Dancaïre and Remendado arrive and reveal their plans to dispose of some recently acquired contraband (“Nous avons en tête une affaire”). Frasquita and Mercédès are keen to help them, but Carmen refuses, since she wishes to wait for José. After the smugglers leave, José arrives. Carmen treats him to a private exotic dance (“Je vais danser en votre honneur … La la la”), but her song is joined by a distant bugle call from the barracks. When José says he must return to duty, she mocks him, and he answers by showing her the flower that she threw to him in the square (“La fleur que tu m’avais jetée”). Unconvinced, Carmen demands he shows his love by leaving with her. José refuses to desert, but as he prepares to depart, Zuniga enters looking for Carmen. He and José fight, and are separated by the returning smugglers, who restrain Zuniga. Having attacked a superior officer, José now has no choice but to join Carmen and the smugglers (“Suis-nous à travers la campagne”).
Act 3 – A wild spot in the mountains Magdalena Kožená and Jonas Kaufmann at the Salzburg Festival 2012
Carmen and José enter with the smugglers and their booty (“Écoute, écoute, compagnons”); Carmen has now become bored with José and tells him scornfully that he should go back to his mother. Frasquita and Mercédès amuse themselves by reading their fortunes from the cards; Carmen joins them and finds that the cards are foretelling her death, and José’s. The women depart to suborn the customs officers who are watching the locality. José is placed on guard duty.
Micaëla enters with a guide, seeking José and determined to rescue him from Carmen (“Je dis que rien ne m’épouvante”). On hearing a gunshot she hides in fear; it is José, who has fired at an intruder who proves to be Escamillo. José’s pleasure at meeting the bullfighter turns to anger when Escamillo declares his infatuation with Carmen. The pair fight (“Je suis Escamillo, toréro de Grenade”), but are interrupted by the returning smugglers and girls (“Holà, holà José”). As Escamillo leaves he invites everyone to his next bullfight in Seville. Micaëla is discovered; at first, José will not leave with her despite Carmen’s mockery, but he agrees to go when told that his mother is dying. As he departs, vowing he will return, Escamillo is heard in the distance, singing the toreador’s song.
Act 4 – A square in Seville. At the back, the walls of an ancient amphitheatre
Zuniga, Frasquita and Mercédès are among the crowd awaiting the arrival of the bullfighters (“Les voici ! Voici la quadrille!”). Escamillo enters with Carmen, and they express their mutual love (“Si tu m’aimes, Carmen”). As Escamillo goes into the arena, Frasquita warns Carmen that José is nearby, but Carmen is unafraid and willing to speak to him. Alone, she is confronted by the desperate José (“C’est toi ! C’est moi !”). While he pleads vainly for her to return to him, cheers are heard from the arena. As José makes his last entreaty, Carmen contemptuously throws down the ring he gave her and attempts to enter the arena. He then stabs her, and as Escamillo is acclaimed by the crowds, Carmen dies. José kneels and sings “Ah! Carmen! ma Carmen adorée!”; as the crowd exits the arena, José confesses to killing the woman he loved.
Jul. 15 – Carmen by G. Bizet
Carmen
Opera by Georges Bizet
July 15 2015 and August 4, 7, 10, 13 2015 – Greek Theatre @ 9.30pm
Direction and Staging: Enrico Castiglione
Costumes: Sonia Cammarata
Festival Euro Mediterraneo Chorus and Symphonic Orchestra
Carmen is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on a novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée.
The opera, written in the genre of opéra comique, tells the story of the downfall of Don José, a naïve soldier who is seduced by the wiles of the fiery Gypsy, Carmen. José abandons his childhood sweetheart and deserts from his military duties, yet loses Carmen’s love to the glamorous toreador Escamillo, after which José kills her in a jealous rage.
The music of Carmen has been widely acclaimed for its brilliance of melody, harmony, atmosphere and orchestration, and for the skill with which Bizet musically represented the emotions and suffering of his characters. After the composer’s death the score was subject to significant amendment, including the introduction of recitative in place of the original dialogue; there is no standard edition of the opera, and different views exist as to what versions best express Bizet’s intentions.
TICKETS on boxol.it and ticketone.it – prices slightly different
Stalls (Parterre) >> Adult: € 108,00 – Under 12: €54,00 – Under 18/Over 65: € 86,40
Gallery >> Adult: € 81,00 – Under 12: €40,50 – Under 18/Over 65: € 64,80
Upper circle (numbered seats) >> Adult: € 59,40 – Under 12: €29,70 – Under 18/Over 65: € 47,50
Upper circle (non-numbered seats) >> Adult: € 32,40 – Under 12: €16,20 – Under 18/Over 65: € 25,90
JULY 15, Wednesday >> TICKETS on boxol.it and ticketone.it
Other dates
AUGUST 4, Tuesday >> TICKETS on boxol.it and ticketone.it
AUGUST 7, Friday >> TICKETS on boxol.it and ticketone.it
AUGUST 10, Monday >> TICKETS on boxol.it and ticketone.it
AUGUST 13, Thursday >> TICKETS on boxol.it and ticketone.it
SYNOPSIS
Place: Seville, Spain, and surrounding hills – Time: Around 1820
Act 1 – A square, in Seville. On the right, a door to the tobacco factory. At the back, a bridge. On the left, a guardhouse.
A group of soldiers relaxes in the square, waiting for the changing of the guard and commenting on the passers-by (“Sur la place, chacun passe”). Micaëla appears, seeking José. Moralès tells her that “José is not yet on duty” and invites her to wait with them. She declines, saying she will return later. José arrives with the new guard, which is greeted and imitated by a crowd of urchins (“Avec la garde montante”). A lithograph of act 1 in the premiere performance, by Pierre-Auguste Lamy, 1875
As the factory bell rings, the cigarette girls emerge and exchange banter with young men in the crowd (“La cloche a sonné”). Carmen enters and sings her provocative habanera on the untameable nature of love (“L’amour est un oiseau rebelle”). The men plead with her to choose a lover, and after some teasing she throws a flower to Don José, who thus far has been ignoring her but is now annoyed by her insolence.
As the women go back to the factory, Micaëla returns and gives José a letter and a kiss from his mother (“Parle-moi de ma mère!”). He reads that his mother wants him to return home and marry Micaëla, who retreats in shy embarrassment on learning this. Just as José declares that he is ready to heed his mother’s wishes, the women stream from the factory in great agitation. Zuniga, the officer of the guard, learns that Carmen has attacked a woman with a knife. When challenged, Carmen answers with mocking defiance (“Tra la la… Coupe-moi, brûle-moi”); Zuniga orders José to tie her hands while he prepares the prison warrant. Left alone with José, Carmen beguiles him with a seguidilla, in which she sings of a night of dancing and passion with her lover—whoever that may be—in Lillas Pastia’s tavern. Confused yet mesmerised, José agrees to free her hands; as she is led away she pushes her escort to the ground and runs off laughing. José is arrested for dereliction of duty.
Act 2 – Lillas Pastia’s Inn
A month has passed. Carmen and her friends Frasquita and Mercédès are entertaining Zuniga and other officers (“Les tringles des sistres tintaient”) in Pastia’s inn. Carmen is delighted to learn of José’s release from a month’s detention. Outside, a chorus and procession announces the arrival of the toreador Escamillo (“Vivat, vivat le Toréro”). Invited inside, he introduces himself with the “Toreador Song” (“Votre toast, je peux vous le rendre”) and sets his sights on Carmen, who brushes him aside. Lillas Pastia hustles the crowds and the soldiers away.
When only Carmen, Frasquita and Mercédès remain, the smugglers Dancaïre and Remendado arrive and reveal their plans to dispose of some recently acquired contraband (“Nous avons en tête une affaire”). Frasquita and Mercédès are keen to help them, but Carmen refuses, since she wishes to wait for José. After the smugglers leave, José arrives. Carmen treats him to a private exotic dance (“Je vais danser en votre honneur … La la la”), but her song is joined by a distant bugle call from the barracks. When José says he must return to duty, she mocks him, and he answers by showing her the flower that she threw to him in the square (“La fleur que tu m’avais jetée”). Unconvinced, Carmen demands he shows his love by leaving with her. José refuses to desert, but as he prepares to depart, Zuniga enters looking for Carmen. He and José fight, and are separated by the returning smugglers, who restrain Zuniga. Having attacked a superior officer, José now has no choice but to join Carmen and the smugglers (“Suis-nous à travers la campagne”).
Act 3 – A wild spot in the mountains Magdalena Kožená and Jonas Kaufmann at the Salzburg Festival 2012
Carmen and José enter with the smugglers and their booty (“Écoute, écoute, compagnons”); Carmen has now become bored with José and tells him scornfully that he should go back to his mother. Frasquita and Mercédès amuse themselves by reading their fortunes from the cards; Carmen joins them and finds that the cards are foretelling her death, and José’s. The women depart to suborn the customs officers who are watching the locality. José is placed on guard duty.
Micaëla enters with a guide, seeking José and determined to rescue him from Carmen (“Je dis que rien ne m’épouvante”). On hearing a gunshot she hides in fear; it is José, who has fired at an intruder who proves to be Escamillo. José’s pleasure at meeting the bullfighter turns to anger when Escamillo declares his infatuation with Carmen. The pair fight (“Je suis Escamillo, toréro de Grenade”), but are interrupted by the returning smugglers and girls (“Holà, holà José”). As Escamillo leaves he invites everyone to his next bullfight in Seville. Micaëla is discovered; at first, José will not leave with her despite Carmen’s mockery, but he agrees to go when told that his mother is dying. As he departs, vowing he will return, Escamillo is heard in the distance, singing the toreador’s song.
Act 4 – A square in Seville. At the back, the walls of an ancient amphitheatre
Zuniga, Frasquita and Mercédès are among the crowd awaiting the arrival of the bullfighters (“Les voici ! Voici la quadrille!”). Escamillo enters with Carmen, and they express their mutual love (“Si tu m’aimes, Carmen”). As Escamillo goes into the arena, Frasquita warns Carmen that José is nearby, but Carmen is unafraid and willing to speak to him. Alone, she is confronted by the desperate José (“C’est toi ! C’est moi !”). While he pleads vainly for her to return to him, cheers are heard from the arena. As José makes his last entreaty, Carmen contemptuously throws down the ring he gave her and attempts to enter the arena. He then stabs her, and as Escamillo is acclaimed by the crowds, Carmen dies. José kneels and sings “Ah! Carmen! ma Carmen adorée!”; as the crowd exits the arena, José confesses to killing the woman he loved.
Taormina Jazz Festival
Taormina Jazz Festival
6th edition
July 10 and 18 – August 3, 5 and 6 2015
Gardens of the Excelsior Palace Hotel @ 9.30pm
Entrance + cocktail >> € 15,00
Info & Booking at the Excelsior Palace Hotel
T. 0039 0942 23975
info@excelsiorpalacetaormina.it
www.excelsiorpalacetaormina.it
Here you can download the Italian/English leaflet
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByYVI_QbCJCxRVhPWGJoYkhsY0E/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByYVI_QbCJCxdFNBcVA4UTRaSmM/view?usp=sharing
P R O G R A M
July 10 – Taormina Jazz Festival – Joyce Yuille Quintet
Joyce Yuille – Voice
Rino Cirinnà – Sax
Andrea Beneventano – Piano
Nello Toscano – Double Bass
Peppe Tringali – Drums
July 18 – Taormina Jazz Festival – Sam Mortellaro Trio
Sam Mortellaro – Piano
Angelo Minacapilli – Double Bass
Francesco Alessi – Drums
August 3 – Taormina Jazz Festival – Rossano Emili Sextet “In Limine”
Rossano Emili – Sax baritone, clarinetto basso
Manuele Morbidini – Sax alto
Igor Spallati – Double Bass
Pedro Spallati – Sax tenor e soprano
Massimo Morganti – Trombone
Ugo Alunni – Drums
August 5 – Taormina Jazz Festival – Wine Hot Sextet
Alessandro Presti – Trumpet, Saxhorn
Sebastiano Ragusa – Sax alto, baritone and tenor
Fabrizio Cassarà – Sax tenor and soprano
Fabrizio Brusca – Guitar
Carmelo Venuto – Double Bass
Emanuele Primavera – Drums
Javier Girotto – Sax soprano, baritone, Andine Flutes
David Brutti – Sax soprano
Matteo Villa – Sax alto
Davide Bartelucci – Sax Tenor
Massimo Valentini – Sax baritone
July 7 – Odissey
ODYSSEY
A Sicilian Love Story
July 7 2015, Greek Theatre @ 9.30pm
Ballet
TICKETS boxol.it and ticketone.it
Stalls (Parterre): € 64,80
Gallery: € 48,60
Upper circle (numbered seats): € 37,80
Upper circle (non-numbered seats): € 21,60
Jul. 5 / Sep. 6 – Pablo Picasso
Palazzo Corvaja, from July 5 to September 6 2015
Entrance: € 7,00
Opening hours:
Monday – Friday >> 10.00am – 2.00pm and 5.00pm – 12.00pm
Saturday – Sunday >> 10.00am – 2.00pm and 5.00pm – 01.00am
(Ticket office closes 30mins before closing time)
Download the poster – Download the leaflet
A complete journey through the work of the Great Artist and a discovery of the passions that accompanied him throughout his life, as well as the evolution of his artistic language.
The works on display here recount all those subjects that were dearest to the great Spanish master as well as his interpretation of reality with the theater and the circus, which he had fallen in love with from the very beginning of his life in Paris together with his friend Gershwin. This was in addition to the ultimate expression of his greatest passion: bullfighting. The exhibition of course would not be complete without a section devoted to his relationships with women and politics. All these passions were, undoubtedly, throughout his career, the objects of his quest to redefine extant artistic motifs with his own definitive visual language. He was the only artist of the Twentieth Century who was capable of concerning himself with all the techniques attributable to the art world at the highest levels, as will be seen in this exhibition. Picasso earned the title of Genius because he stopped at nothing and even when he was of a very old age, he sought to challenge himself and to experiment. This is the challenge of this great show, to make the visitors fully realize the complexity of Picasso, through the more human aspects. Picasso who loomed as one of the titans of the world of art during the last century, continues to strongly influence art, and not only that of our century.
More info
picassoelesuepassioni@comediarting.it
picassoelesuepassioni.comediarting.it
picassoelesuepassioni on fB
July 4-5-6 – L’Ora del Rosario
Fiorello in
L’ORA DEL ROSARIO
Taormina Greek Theatre, July 4, 5 and 6 2015 @9.30pm
Rosario Tindaro Fiorello (born 16 May 1960), known just as Fiorello, is an Italian comedian, singer, radio, and television presenter.
Fiorello was born in Catania, Sicily. He began his career working in tourist villages as an entertainer. Near the end of the 1980s, Fiorello began hosting the show “Viva Radio Deejay”. Having become popular through the TV show Karaoke, Fiorello went on to host various TV shows.
Since 2002, Fiorello has hosted the radio broadcast Viva Radio 2 together with Marco Baldini, during which Fiorello shows off his skills as a singer, mimic and entertainer.
Fiorello’s skills as a vocalist have brought him to the cinema as well. He has participated in such varied roles as: a dubber in cartoons (most recently Garfield), to an appearance in the film The Talented Mr. Ripley, in the role of Fausto, a young Italian friend of the main characters.
On November 14, 2011 Fiorello back on television with a new program entitled “Il più grande spettacolo dopo il weekend” (inspired by the song “Il più grande spettacolo dopo il Big Bang” of his friend Lorenzo Jovanotti). The first episode showed excellent results, with 10 million viewers and almost 40% share. The data, already outstanding, to further improve in the second episode (with over 12 million viewers and a share of almost 43% [10]) and third (almost 12 million viewers and over 43% share).
Fiorello’s most famous imitations include Mike Bongiorno, and that of Silvio Berlusconi as a character called Smemorato di Cologno who, in the parody, loses his memory every time something related to communism is mentioned.
TICKETS on ticketone.it
June 30 – George Gershwin
George Gershwin
Jazz Concert by Stefano Di Battista
Orchestra Teatro Vittorio Emanuele (Messina)
TICKETS on ticketone.it and boxol.it
Stalls (Parterre): € 55,00
Gallery: € 40,00
Upper circle (numbered seats): € 28,50
Upper circle (non-numbered seats): € 23,00
Jun. 28 – Una festa per Bevilacqua e Sgarbi
Una festa per Alberto Bevilacqua e Vittorio Sgarbi
June 28 2015 in Via degli Artisti (Street of Artists) @ 6.30pm
Art, Handcraft, Arabian Dance, Food and Wine.
More info as soon as possible!
June 27 – Silver Ribbon Awards
Silver Ribbon Awards Ceremony
Taormina Greek Theatre
June 27th 2015, 9.30pm
The Nastro d’Argento (Silver Ribbon) is a movie award assigned each year, since 1946, for cinematic performances and production by the Sindacato Nazionale dei Giornalisti Cinematografici Italiani, the association of Italian film critics. The Nastro d’argento is the oldest movie award in Europe, and the second oldest in the world (only the Academy Awards are older). The awards are given during a fashion gala night held at the Taormina Greek Theatre.
TICKETS
Ticket Office in Taormina: +39 0942.094221142/628730
info@taormina-arte.com
Stalls (Parterre) and Gallery: € 20,00
Upper circle (numbered seats): € 15,00
Upper circle (non-numbered seats): € 10,00
June 27 – Silver Ribbon Awards
69th Silver Ribbon Awards Ceremony
Taormina Greek Theatre
June 27th 2015, 9.30pm
The Nastro d’Argento (Silver Ribbon) is a movie award assigned each year, since 1946, for cinematic performances and production by the Sindacato Nazionale dei Giornalisti Cinematografici Italiani, the association of Italian film critics. The Nastro d’argento is the oldest movie award in Europe, and the second oldest in the world (only the Academy Awards are older). The awards are given during a fashion gala night held at the Taormina Greek Theatre.
TICKETS online on boxol.it
Ticket Office in Taormina: +39 0942.094221142/628730
Stalls (Parterre) and Gallery: € 20,00
Upper circle (numbered seats): € 15,00
Upper circle (non-numbered seats): € 10,00
June 13 – Inside Out
6 1 t h T A O R M I N A F I L M F E S T
June 13 – 20 2015
INSIDE OUT
Taormina Greek Theatre, June 11th 2015 @ 9.30pm
Pixar’s new film Inside Out floored critics when it screened at the Cannes film festival in May, and this new clip offers a tiny peak at what they found so charming.
Directed by Pete Docter (Up), Inside Out shows the struggle going on the head of 11-year-old Riley as as her emotions get to grips with puberty and a distruptive move to San Francisco. Each emotion is represented by a different character, with Joy being played by Comedian Amy Poehler and Disgust by Mindy Kaling.
Watch the official trailer : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seMwpP0yeu4
TICKETS on boxol.it
Stalls (Parterre): € 13,00
Upper circle (non-numbered seats): € 8.00