"A tragedy related to man's immaturity, Don José's inability to succeed in accepting his reality, which will lead him to commit a tragic act, emblematic of his persistent infantilism”. This is how director Damiano Michieletto describes his new production of Georges Bizet's Carmen, scheduled to be staged at London's Royal Opera House from today April 2024. The show, part of the theater's 2023/24 film program, will be broadcast from May 1 in theaters in more than 50 countries around the world. The director from Veneto returns to Covent Garden for the fourth time after debuting with "Guillaume Tell" (2015), the Olivier Award-winning diptych "Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci" (2015) and "Don Pasquale" (2019). Sets are by Paolo Fantin, costumes by Carla Teti, lighting by Alessandro Carletti, and dramaturgy by Elisa Zaninotto. Conducting the orchestra and chorus of the Royal Opera House are Antonello Manacorda and Emmanuel Villaume. "Carmen also and above all speaks of freedom," Michieletto continues, "On the one hand, the female figure of the protagonist embodies the idea of absolute freedom, which entails a life as an outcast and isolated, like that of a stray animal. On the other hand, the figure of Don Jose's mother attempts to bind her son to her, forcing him to obey, hijacking his will and maintaining control over him. Although the mother is not physically present in the story, her strength is manifested through the character of Micaëla. The final tragedy, with Carmen's femicide, thus becomes a metaphorical clash between two opposing existential models".
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