DomStufen Festival in Erfurt 2018
Seduction, jealousy, bullfighting and murder – the bewitching gypsy Carmen wraps every man around her little finger. She has so much influence over the conscientious soldier Don José that he helps her to escape and, as a result, loses his job, leaves his fiancée Micaela and joins a band of smugglers. When Carmen, despite this, gives her love to the daring toreador Escamillo, a tale of fatal jealousy unfolds.
Based on the novella of the same name by Prosper Mérimée, Bizet's Carmen has long fascinated audiences because of the magnetic attraction of the dazzling title figure, her boundless desire for freedom and her strong will that leads to her death; yet it also makes us think seriously about marginalisation, the freedom of the artist compared with the bonds of middle-class life, or about self-determination and dependency in love. At the same time, this opera offers a wealth of dances, famous arias and popular concert tunes such as Carmen's "Habanera" and "Seguidilla", José's flower song and Escamillo's "Toreador" aria.
Staged to mark the 25th DomStufen Festival in Erfurt in 2018, this popular opera promises to be a very special highlight.