Bizet 
Carmen 

Comic opera in four acts with a libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, first performed at the Opéra-Comique in Paris on March 3rd 1875.

Version with recitatives composed by Ernest Guiraud, first performed in Vienna on October 23rd 1875.
Historical staging from 1875.

New Royal Opera Production.

Show in French with French and English surtitles.

Adèle Charvet / Éléonore Pancrazi . Julien Behr / Kévin Amiel . Alexandre Duhamel . Florie Valiquette  / Vannina Santoni . Gwendoline Blondeel . Ambroisine Bré . Matthieu Walendzik . Attila Varga-Tóth . Nicolas Certenais . Halidou Nombre

Chœur d'enfants Rameau
Chœur de l'Opéra Royal
Orchestre de l’Opéra Royal
Hervé Niquet Conductor
Romain Gilbert Director
Vincent Chaillet Choreography
Christian Lacroix, assisté de Jean-Philippe Pons Costumes
Antoine Fontaine Stage sets
Hervé Gary Lights
Adèle Borde, Antoine Cardin, Pierrick Defives, Paloma Gandia Izquierdo Dancers
Cédric Brenner, Maxime Nourissat Mimes
Harold Batola, Romain Collard, Hugo Collin, Baptiste Delamare, Vladimir Delaye, Vincent Petit Extras

Could there be a more emblematic French opera than Carmen ?

Sir Thomas Beecham claimed that its overture was “the true French national anthem”. And for good reason! Today, it is the most famous opera in the world. Yet Carmen was deemed shocking at its première in 1875, scandalising audiences at the Opéra-Comique with the violence of its emotions and the immorality of its main character, barely softened by the masterful reinvention of Spanish colour by Bizet (who had never even crossed the Pyrenees!). However, after the composer’s sudden death during the thirty-third performance, Carmen gradually won over Europe and then the world, becoming a resounding success.

But what colour and flavour did this legendary opera have when it was first performed? To mark the 150th anniversary of both the première of Carmen and Bizet’s death, the Opéra Royal and the Palazzetto Bru Zane are finally offering a faithful reconstruction of the period sets and costumes. Now we really are in Seville, with the picadors, the alguazil and the rising guard !

Hervé Niquet conducts the magnificent soloists and the Orchestra of the Opéra Royal on period instruments, as befits this incomparable piece.

The shows on January 16th, 17th and 18th were filmed by Wahoo Productions.