Opéra Royal - Bizet : Carmen

Cultural

What work could be more emblematic of French opera than Carmen?

Sir Thomas Beecham claimed that its overture was ‘the true national anthem of the French’. And with good reason! It is now the best-known opera in the world.

Yet Carmen was deemed shocking at its premiere in 1875, scandalising audiences at the Opéra-Comique with the violence of its emotions and the immorality of its main character, which was hardly softened by the Spanish colour masterfully reinvented by Bizet (who had never even crossed the Pyrenees!). However, after the composer's sudden death during the thirty-third performance, Carmen gradually conquered 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 premiere of Carmen and Bizet's death, the Opéra Royal is staging a faithful recreation of the period's sets and costumes: here we are in Seville, with the picadors, the alguazil and the rising guard!

Hervé Niquet conducts magnificent soloists and the Royal Opera Orchestra on period instruments, to bring this incomparable work to life.