Carmen

Recorded in HD at London’s Royal Opera House

Conducted by Antonio Pappano
Directed by Francesca Zambello
Starring Anna Caterina Antonacci and Jonas Kaufmann
Sung in French
2 hrs 38 mins including one intermission

ABOUT

An opera in four acts by George Bizet, with libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, CARMEN is one of the world’s most popular operas. It had its world premiere at Paris’s Opéra Comique in March, 1875.

SYNOPSIS

Carmen, a gypsy cigarette girl, fights with another girl working in her factory. She is placed in the custody of Don José, an incorruptible corporal in the Spanish Civil Guard. Don José is smitten by her, and though Carmen seduces him, her heart belongs to the dashing toreador Escamillo. Obsessed, Don José follows Carmen to the bullring in Seville…with tragic consequences.

CAST

Carmen: Anna Caterina Antonacci
Don José: Jonas Kaufmann
Micaëla: Norah Amsellem
Escamillo: Ildebrando D’Arcangelo
Moralès: Jacques Imbrailo
Zuniga: Matthew Rose
Frasquita: Elena Xanthoudakis
Mercédès: Viktoria Vizin
Lillas Pastia: Caroline Lena Olsson
Le Dancaïre: Jean Sébastien Bou
Le Remendado: Jean-Paul Fouchécourt

CREATIVE

Conductor: Antonio Pappano
Stage Director: Francesca Zambello
Choreography: Arthur Pita
Lighting Design: Paul Constable
Designs: Tanya McCallin
Fight Director: Mike Loades

Royal Opera Chorus
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House

Captured live in December, 2006.