02/11/17 – Carmen – 1pm

Metropolitan Opera

Carmen
Composed by Georges Bizet
Libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy

• sung in French
• ESTIMATED RUN TIME 3 HRS 17 MINS
• front page photo credit: Marty Sohl/Metropolitan Opera

Two French mezzo-sopranos, Sophie Koch and Clémentine Margaine, alternate as Bizet’s immortal heroine. Tenor Marcelo Álvarez is her hapless soldier Don José, and newcomer Maria Agresta—a sensation in her debut in La Bohème last season—is the devoted Micaëla, who fights to save him. Asher Fisch, Louis Langrée, and Derrick Inouye share conducting duties.

World premiere: Opéra Comique, Paris, 1875. Bizet’s masterpiece of the gypsy seductress who lives by her own rules has had an impact far beyond the opera house. The opera’s melodic sweep is as irresistible as the title character herself, a force of nature who has become a defining female cultural figure. Carmen was a scandal at its premiere but soon after became a triumphal success and has remained one of the most frequently staged operas in the world.