Les Nuits de Fourvère/Dèpartement du Rhône 
 and Opéra Théâtre de Saint-Étienne
present

CARMEN

 

Carmen will open the Summer Season of Teatro dell’Opera at Baths of Caracalla in Rome 

The Italian premiere will take place on June 24 at 9 pm. 
Tickets are available at the box office and online

 

 

Carmen

 

by Georges Bizet
with Orchestra di Piazza Vittorio
Musical Adaptation by Mario Tronco and Leandro Piccioni

 

“Sur la place Chacun passe, Chacun vient, chacun va;
Drôles de gens que ces gens-là! Drôles de gens! Drôles de gens!”
“On the square everyone comes by, everyone comes and goes;
funny sort of people these!!” 

The chorus sings suspended in the air, peering down on earth, watching a strange caravan of nomads from all over the world on its way from Rajasthan to Spain.
Our Carmen unravels among these people. The chorus narrates; it knows the story well. It has seen the same story take place a thousand times in as many places.
But this time, the chorus decides it won’t just watch the story, it wants to be part of it. It becomes a character in the story, deciding which direction the story will take; it tells the characters on stage how to act, what to say, and it even comes down to earth and takes on a role. The chorus has a dual role, it plays the narrator and is the voice of conscience (somewhere between the chorus in a Greek tragedy and Jiminy Cricket).

On earth, we watch a human tragedy played out by a young man who falls madly in love with an older woman, beautiful and seductive who treasures her freedom over love.
Our idea is to tell a story that’s a little different from the original libretto of Carmen, not in the storyline as much as in the emotional and mental complexities of the characters. We all know Don José as a victim, a fool. His life is unresolved, he has gambling debts, and his life plans have changed. He has joined the army and left his home. But he misses his home and his ailing mother. He is hotheaded and a little pathetic (but this trait often makes him endearing).
Carmen is pure sensuality, flawless beauty, the perfect woman who can have any man she wants, and does whatever she wants with them.

We want to tell the other side of these two characters. We want to tell a love story.

After the unique take on Mozart’s Magic Flute, the Orchestra di Piazza Vittorio revisits Bizet’s Carmen. Produced by Les Nuits de Fourvière / Département du Rhône, in collaboration with Opéra Théâtre de Saint-Étienne, the world premiere will be held in Lyon at the Festival Les Nuits de Fourvière from June 23 to 26, 2013.

The whole story

Images
Carmen by OPV.jpg
Carmen and Don Jose.jpg
Don Jose and Micaela.jpg 

Produced by
Les Nuits de Fourvère/Dèpartement du Rhône
  in collaboration with Opéra Théâtre de Saint-Étienne
 

Starring
Cristina Zavalloni Carmen
Sanjay Khan José; harmonium, castanets
Elsa Birgé Micaela

Orchestra di Piazza Vittorio
Houcine Ataa Escamillo – Carlos Paz Duque Zuniga; flute – Omar Lopez Valle Le Dancaire / Gitano; trumpet, flugelhorn – Ernesto Lopez Maturell Contrabbandiere / Gitano; percussions – El Hadji Yeri Samb Remendado / Gitano; djembe, dum dum
Pino Pecorelli bass and double bass – Raul Scebba percussions – Leandro Piccioni piano, synthesizer - Ziad Trabelsi oud – Emanuele Bultrini guitar – Marian Serban cimbalom

Guest Musicians
Ion Stanescu violin – Simon Siger trombone – Paolo Rocca clarinet

Dhoad Gypsies of Rajasthan
Amrat  Hussain Tablas – Jhori Mahendra Kumar Percussions | Vocals – Sarwar Percussioni | Vocals – Meena Ballerina – Sapera Ganga Ballerina – Sapera Manju Ballerina – Sapera Chanda Ballerina

Romafest Romanian dancers
Ovidio Totti - Vizi Dezso - Adam Jozsef - Biga Imre

St. Etienne Loire Chorus and Symphony Orchestra 
Conducted by Leandro Piccioni

Artistic and Musical Direction Mario Tronco
Arrangements Mario Tronco and Leandro Piccioni
Choreography Giorgio Rossi
Set Design and mise en espace Lino Fiorito
Sets by Atelier Opéra Théâtre de Saint-Étienne
Lighting Design Bruno Marsol
Costume Design Katia Marcanio
Costumes by Atelier Opéra Théâtre de Saint-Étienne
F.O.H. Engineer Gianni Istroni
Stage Monitor Engineer Francesco Ferraioli

Project Supervisor Giacomo Scalisi