Carmen the cigarette girl, Carmen beyond the myth, Carmen passion, Carmen independence, Carmen freedom of body and soul, Carmen: The Woman.
Carmen of Seville. Seville of Carmen. Seville, of working women riding the first wave of feminism when no one had yet named it. Carmen and her will to be, at the risk of her life. The freedom of work, the freedom of love. The sovereignty of free bodies.
Carmen and Bizet are celebrated. It is the 150th anniversary of the premiere of one of the world’s most famous operas and of the composer’s death, shortly after the work’s debut. Myth and creator in an embrace that moves us and forms part of our sentimental memory. If the myth has transcended as a model of womanhood, if Carmen belongs to us all beyond Mérimée or Bizet, this opera also subverted the genre, transforming its farcical tone into an exquisite way of imbuing beauty with joy. Of turning drama into a song of freedom.

The stage direction is by Emilio Sagi, from a family that is essential to the Spanish operatic scene, a university professor, and artistic director of the Teatro Real in Madrid and the Arriaga Theatre in Bilbao. Carmen features Maria Kataeva, Dalibor Jenis as the bullfighter Escamillo, and Piero Pretti as Don José, among other great voices in a double cast for six performances.

The Teatro de la Maestranza has prepared this production with the same passion and joy with which Seville has made this opera part of its identity. Carmen stands as an ambassador for a Seville that was and is at the forefront, and that continues to defend the right to beauty.