UNC Opera Theatre is proud to present Georges Bizet’s Carmen, presented in a new edition that closely parallels its original dialogue version as it premiered at the Parisian Opéra Comique in 1875.
Calvin Klein may have made the word “obsession” famous with his ads and fragrance products, but Bizet perfected the concept with his turgid opera based on the novella of the same name by Prosper Mérimée. In music and dialogue Bizet crafted a gripping drama of passion, rejection, betrayal and love: and that’s all just in the first act. On an irrevocable trajectory toward violence and death, Don José abandons all in which he believed, and all for which he stood, for the chance to be with Carmen, the object of his obsession. Add smugglers, gypsies and bullfighters and you’ve got a night at the opera! Some of the most memorable tunes in the operatic canon have kept Carmen among the most popular of operas of all time, but it is Bizet’s gripping drama, told through evocative and compelling music that has held audiences in rapt attention for more than 150 years.
“I always thought I hated Carmen, but I grew up with it in the over-wrought through-composed version that was adopted after his death, with the dialogues being set as recitative and a ballet being interpolated to satisfy the flavors of grand opera,” said stage director Brian Clay Luedloff. “Once those elements are removed, Bizet’s original music really sparkles in the context of the original dialogue.”
Carmen is directed by Brian Clay Luedloff and the award-winning University Symphony Orchestra is conducted by Dr. Russell Guyver. In addition, Greeley Mayor Tom Norton makes an appearance in the final scene as the Mayor of Seville. The opera will be performed in French with English supertitles. Performances are on April 24th and 25th, at 7:30pm in Monfort Concert Hall at the Union Colony Civic Center, Greeley. Tickets available at the UNC Performing Arts Box Office at (970) 351-2200 or by emailing boxoffice@unco.edu/.