Carmen

Carmen, a story of violence and marginalization, of menacing boundaries and conflicting ethnicities: this describes the production of Carmen, set during the 70's, a militarized world in continuous transformation. As such, it has very little to do with any of the conventional staging which emphasizes an Andalusian and flamenco atmosphere.

By removing stereotypical clichés, Calixto Bieito gives importance to the passions which move across a minimalist stage that represents a sordid, atavistic, male chauvinist Spain. Here, the cigarette factory is relegated to the side lines of a military barracks in a borderland of what could be Ceuta and Morocco. The Spanish flag flies high in the African territory, a perfect symbol of the desire to impose, although it is not exactly too clear what that imposition may be. The universe of this Carmen is one of shady deals, testosterone, and tourism basking in the sun at the beach. The production was originally conceived for the Festival de Peralada, it was reprised at the Gran Teatre del Liceu of Barcelona and then at the Opéra national de Paris. It is this last version which comes to the stage of the Teatro Real.