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L Y R I C O P E R A O F C H I C A G O
February 11 - March 25, 2017
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• Bizet’s
Carmen
tells a dramatic and realistic story about life in Seville in the 1820s
(updated by a century in Lyric’s production). How is the opera’s realism similar to
and different from that in other operas you might have seen?
• Discuss the role of fate in
Carmen
. Do you think the story could have ended any
other way?
• Compare the central female characters of Carmen and Micaëla, and also the central
male characters of Don José and Escamillo. How does the music Bizet has written
for these characters, respectively, showcase their distinct attributes?
• How does Bizet’s music evoke the landscape and culture of Spain? What other
elements of the production – set, costumes, choreography – transported you?
• Why do you think the opera’s early audiences were scandalized, even outraged,
by
Carmen
? Does opera still have the power to shock us today?
• Perhaps no other French opera has achieved the same popular status as
Carmen
.
What elements do you think make this opera such an enduring classic?
Carmen:
After the Curtain Falls
To continue enjoying
Carmen
, Lyric dramaturg Roger Pines
suggests the following performances:
• CD – Solange Michel, Raoul Jobin, Marthe Angelici, Michel
Dens; Orchestra and Chorus of the Opéra Comique, cond.
André Cluytens (EMI –
with spoken dialogue
)
• CD – Victoria de los Angeles, Nicolai Gedda, Janine
Micheau, Ernest Blanc; National Orchestra and Chorus of
Radio France, cond. Sir Thomas Beecham (EMI)
• CD – Tatiana Troyanos, Plácido Domingo, Dame Kiri Te
Kanawa, José Van Dam; Orchestra and Chorus of the Royal
Opera House, Covent Garden, cond. Sir Georg Solti (Decca –
with spoken dialogue
)
• CD – Leontyne Price, Franco Corelli, Mirella Freni, Robert
Merrill; Vienna Philharmonic, Chorus of the Vienna State
Opera, cond. Herbert von Karajan (RCA Opera Treasury)
• DVD – Anne Sofie von Otter, Marcus Haddock, Lisa
Milne, Laurent Naouri; London Philharmonic Orchestra,
Glyndebourne Chorus, cond. Philippe Jordan, dir. Sir David
McVicar (Opus Arte –
with spoken dialogue
)
• DVD – Anna Caterina Antonacci, Jonas Kaufmann, Norah
Amsellem, Ildebrando D’Arcangelo; Orchestra and Chorus
of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, cond. Antonio
Pappano, dir. Francesca Zambello (Decca –
with spoken
dialogue
)
• DVD – Elina Garanča, Roberto Alagna, Barbara Frittoli,
Teddy Tahu Rhodes; Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and
Chorus, cond. Yannick Nézet-Séguin, dir. Richard Eyre
(Deutsche Grammophon)
• DVD – Julia Migenes, Plácido Domingo, Faith Esham,
Ruggero Raimondi; National Orchestra of France, Chorus of
Radio France, cond. Lorin Maazel, dir. Francesco Rosi (Sony
Pictures –
with spoken dialogue
)
When the performance is over, try discussing it with your companions
and any other opera lovers you know! You can continue your pleasure in
Carmen
for hours
– even days – by exchanging ideas about it. Here are some topics we can suggest:
Katharine Goeldner and Yonghoon Lee in the final
scene of
Carmen
, 2010-11 season.
DAN REST