Carmen

Carmen could hardly be any clearer: if she sets her sights on you, you better watch out. But when Don José falls under her spell, she too had better watch out: in the arena of human passion, toxic jealousy can strike ferociously … 

Georges Bizet’s opéra comique was met with incomprehension when it premiered in 1875, but grew into a classic whose melodies – and clichés – became entrenched in the collective imagination. In this production, however, you can forget the Bohemian girl, the tobacco factory, Seville and its street festivals! Director Dmitri Tcherniakov (The Tale of Tsar Saltan) places the Carmen myth in an original frame narrative, staging the opera as a therapeutic experiment for emotionally exhausted people today. A seemingly simple role play soon deteriorates into an uncontrollable mechanism, in which a man consumed by passion can no longer separate himself from his character. Nathalie Stutzmann, who made a remarkable La Monnaie debut with Pikovaya Dama in 2022, will lead the orchestra through the score with at least as much passion. 

Are you under 30? Then attend this opera on the Young Opera Night (14.6.2025) and we treat you to a personal welcome, a free drink, a free programme book and an after-event.