Turn on the television, and Carmen is advertising everything from fast food to sports and printers. There’s a museum guard singing the Toréador song.

While much of Carmen might be fun, it also has a sense of impending tragedy, of inevitable doom.Īnd the tunes are catchy, pouring out with almost inexhaustible fertility. Into this, it mixes the tender sentiment of Micaëla and Don José’s lost love, Don José’s obsessive jealousy, and a brutal murder. Much of the opera is light-hearted: choruses of soldiers, cigarette girls, and big crowds shouting “Olé!” exhilarating Spanish dances, with castanets quintets of smugglers praising women’s wiles and Carmen herself, part seductress, part comedian, a flower between her teeth, her hips swaying sexily, while she laughs and sings. It’s a brilliant entertainment that ends in tragedy. Its popularity, in fact, makes it easy to overlook just how good it is. It’s the third most frequently performed opera, and the most performed French opera, in the world. “Ô ma Carmen! ma Carmen adorée! …”Ĭarmen is popular. “You can arrest me,” he tells them “I killed her.” He throws himself onto the corpse. The crowd pour out of the arena – and see him standing over her body.

While the audience celebrate Escamillo’s victory in the bullring, Don José, crazed with jealousy, stabs Carmen. She no longer loves him she loves Escamillo. He begs her to return to him he’ll do anything… Without avail.

The crowd pass into the arena, leaving the two former lovers alone.

She’s right she will.ĭon José is at large, armed and dangerous. Carmen tells him that she loves him, and will die if she ever loved anyone as much as him. They cheer as the alguazils, the chulos and the banderillos, the picadors march by…and, at last, Escamillo. The cuadrilla arrive the public throw their sombreros into the air as the four toreros pass. Merchants sell water, oranges, fans, programmes, and lorgnettes.

Carmen opera 2017