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.
Aug. 1/7/10/13 – Carmen by G. Bizet
Opera by Georges Bizet
July 15 2015 and August 1, 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
AUGUST 1, Saturday >> TICKETS on boxol.it and ticketone.it
Other dates
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.
July 27 – Damien Rice
Damien Rice
Taormina Greek Theatre, Monday July 27 @ 9.00pm
After eight years away from the recording studios, mostly spent in Iceland, Damien Rice returned in November 2014 with his first album since 2006. “Have no doubt that the 40-year-old singer-songwriter from County Kildare is returning with one of the albums of the year” says David Smyth. His tour will arrive in Taormina in July.
TICKETS on ticketone.it – soon available
Presale on Damien Rice website
Stalls (Parterre): €
Gallery: €
Upper circle (numbered seats): €
Upper circle (non-numbered seats): €
Damien Rice (born 7 December 1973) is an Irish singer-songwriter, musician and record producer who plays piano, guitar, percussion and clarinet. Rice began his musical career as a member of the 1990s rock group Juniper, which were signed to Polygram Records in 1997. The band enjoyed moderate success with a couple of single releases, but a projected album foundered because of record company politics. After leaving the band he worked as a farmer in Tuscany and busked throughout Europe before returning to Ireland in 2001 and beginning a solo musical career. In 2002 his debut album O reached No. 8 on the UK albums chart, won the Shortlist Music Prize and generated three top-30 singles in the UK. Rice released his second album 9 in 2006 and his songs have appeared in numerous films and television episodes. After eight years of various collaborations, Rice released his third studio album My Favourite Faded Fantasy on 31 October 2014. Rice’s personal activities include musical contributions to charitable projects such as the Songs for Tibet, Freedom Campaign and the Enough Project.
More on Damien Tice: telegraph.co.uk by Neil McCormick
July 26 – Litfiba
LITFIBA
Tetralogia degli Elementi Tour
Taormina Greek Theatre, Sunday July 26th 2015 @9.00pm
Litfiba is an Italian rock-band formed in Florence in early 1980.
The band evolved from British-influenced new wave rock to a more personal rock sound influenced by Mediterranean vibes; their songs are mostly sung in Italian.
TICKETS on ticketone.it
Stalls (Parterre): € n.a.
Gallery: € 57,50
Upper circle (numbered seats): € 46,00
Upper circle (non-numbered seats): € 34,50
Ticket Office in Taormina @ Taormina Arte:
Congress Hall >> 10-12am / 5.00-7.00pm (9.00 on event’s day)
Tel. +39 0942.628730 – 0039 0942 21142 info@taormina-arte.com
Jul 24/Aug. 9 – Tre toni di colore
Tre toni di colore
Exhibition
Palazzo Duchi di Santo Stefano, July 24 – August 9 2015
Opening hours: everyday 10.00am-1.00pm / 5.00pm-10.00pm
Free entrance
Three artists, three colours:
Benedetto POMA
Tanina CUCCIA
Giuseppe PATANE’
July 23 – Mika
MIKA
Taormina Greek Theatre, July 23rd 2015 @ 21.00
TICKETS on ticketone.it
Stalls (Parterre): € –
Gallery: € –
Upper circle (numbered seats): € 46,00
Upper circle (non-numbered seats): € 35,00
July 20 – Goran Bregovic
C A N C E L L E D
Goran Bregovic
and Wedding and Funeral Orchestra
“If you don’t go crazy you are not normal !”
Taormina Greek Theatre, July 20th 2015 @ 9.30pm
Goran Bregović (1950) is a Bosnian musician and one of the most internationally known modern musicians and composers of the Balkans. He left Bosnia and Herzegovina before the Bosnian War.
Bregović has composed for such varied artists as Iggy Pop and Cesária Évora. He rose to fame playing guitar with his rock band Bijelo Dugme. Among his better known scores are three of Emir Kusturica’s films (Time of the Gypsies, Arizona Dream, and Underground).
Bregović’s compositions, extending Balkan musical inspirations to innovative extremes, draw upon European classicism and Balkan rhythms.Bregović’s music carries Bosnian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Greek, Romani, Romanian, Serbian and Turkish themes and is a fusion of popular music with traditional polyphonic music from the Balkans, tango, and brass bands.
More info: http://goranbregovic.rs
TICKETS boxol.it and ticketone.it
Stalls (Parterre): € 49,45
Gallery: € 37,95
Upper circle (non-numbered seats): € 26,45
Ticket Office in Taormina @ Taormina Arte:
Congress Hall >> 10-12am / 5.00-7.00pm (9.00 on event’s day)
Tel. +39 0942.628730 – 0039 0942 21142 info@taormina-arte.com – www.taormina-arte.com
July 17 – Gianluca Grignani
Gianluca Grignani
A Volte Esagero Tour
Friday July 17 @ Taormina Greek Theatre
Gianluca Grignani (born 7 April 1972) is an Italian singer-songwriter and guitarist.
His musical career took off after meeting guitarist, and producer Massimo Luca. After Grignani performed in the 1994 Festival de San Remo, PolyGram persuaded him to release the acoustic ballad “Mi Historia entre tus Dedos”, then in 1995, Grignani managed a breakthrough with the album Destinazione Paradiso which sold two million copies within a year and for which he was awarded the Telegatto; “Mi Historia entre tus Dedos” became a number one hit all over Iberoamerica and other countries in Europe.
Some of his most famous hits:
Destinazione Paradiso
Falco A Metà
La Mia Storia Tra Le Dita
TICKETS on boxol.it
Stalls (Parterre): € 57,50
Gallery: € 51,70
Upper circle (numbered seats): € 40,20
Upper circle (non-numbered seats): € 28,70
July 16 – Spandau Ballet
Spandau Ballet
Taormina Greek Theatre, July 16th 2015 @9.00pm
Spandau Ballet are a British new wave band formed in London in the late 1970s. The band was inspired by, and an integral part of, the New Romantic movement, and became one of the most successful groups to emerge during the New Romantic era.
In early 2009, there was much speculation that the band was set to perform later that year. Although the band did not comment on these reports, the official Spandau Ballet website encouraged fans to sign up “for an exciting announcement”, fuelling rumours that a reunion was imminent
The band confirmed the rumours and began a world tour in October 2009.
TICKETS on boxol.it and ticketone.it
Stalls (Parterre): € 90,00
Gallery: € 75,00
Upper circle (numbered seats): € 60,00
Upper circle (non-numbered seats): € 46,00
More info on the band: www.spandauballet.com
July 16/31 – Exhib. Le Sirene di Ulisse
Le Sirene di Ulisse
Painting exhibition by Benedetto Poma
Palazzo Duchi di Santo Stefano, from July 16 to 31
Opening hours: 10.00am-1.00pm and 5.00pm-9.00pm
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.