«THE FANTASTIC CARMEN»

“World of music would be incomplete without Carmen, and it would have been enough for Bizet to write only this opera to become Bizet,” argued Italian musicologist Gustavo Marchesi.

For 130 years, Carmen has been the leading world opera in the number of productions, recordings, and concert performances, and Bizet’s music is now so firmly rooted in the cultural code of humankind that it seems to have always existed.

Yuri Bashmet is known for his love for mixed genres and musical eclectics. Almost every festival of his includes a performance built on a synthesis of literature and music. In Carmen, the maestro combines opera, ballet, and drama. The joint production by Yuri Bashmet and director Pavel Safonov was first presented to the audience at the VIII Winter International Arts Festival in Sochi in 2015.

The Fantastic Carmen dwells on selfishness that turns love into passion and the desire to possess and the realization of irreparable loss that recovers it to purity and infinite tenderness. The theatre director José, who murdered the actress Carmencita out of jealousy, is in an asylum for the mentally ill under the care of the mystical Doctor, who leads him to the realization of his deed. The opera and ballet pieces from works dedicated to the story of Carmen come to José’s fevered imagination. He falls in love with Carmen again, coming to understand his dream is unattainable. Upon awakening, José recovers, but the tears in his eyes suggest that he would be willing to walk the tortuous path to his Carmen again.