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CAST

PRODUCTION TEAM

Opera Orlando concludes its MainStage series back in the Walt Disney Theater, as it presents Georges Bizet’s fiery masterwork Carmen. Critically-acclaimed maestro Kelly Kuo makes his Opera Orlando debut and conducts musicians from the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, with Sara E. Widzer also making her Company debut, directing this original production set in the politically tumultuous and culturally provocative arena of 1960s Haiti. The seductive and treacherous world of Carmen comes to life onstage, with a stellar cast and members of the Opera Orlando Chorus and Youth Company.

MORE OF THE MAINSTAGE

SYNOPSIS

ACT I - The Streets of Port-Au-Prince

In the bustling market members of Duvalier’s private militia, nicknamed the Tonton Macoute, patrol the square, while Morales, a soldier in the Haitian Army, stands around chatting with some fellow soldiers and the local men of Port-Au-Prince, when Micaela, a young girl from Anse a Pitres, approaches them. Micaela is looking for a specific soldier, Don José. The men assure her that he is on his way but Micaela says she will return later and leaves. As the children of Port-Au-Prince pretend to mounted guard, led by captain Zuniga and corporal José, arrive in the market. José hears of the young girl who was looking for him and recognizes Micaela who grew up at his house. Their reunion is interrupted as the bell sounds, summoning the girls of the Comme Il Faut cigarette factory back to work. Among the girls entering the square, Carmen appears and taking an interest in José, she brazenly addresses the men and attracts the  attention of José by throwing him a flower, which he keeps. Micaela returns bringing José a letter from his mother back at their village and some money his mother saved for him. Shouts are heard from the factory and the square fills with people; Carmen is arguing with a fellow workers and stabs her. Zuniga has her arrested by José and then tries to interrogate her, though he soon loses patience  and orders her imprisonment. Carmen sings to José, seducing him and convincing him to let her escape.

 ACT II - Club Lilla

Carmen and her friends Frasquita and Mercedes are singing and dancing along with and Morales. Outside, the crowd sings the praises of Escamillo, the “Toreador,” the organizer of traveling bull fights and gambling throughout Haiti, as well as an adversary of Duvalier. Carmen mesmerizes Escamillo, who tries to talk to her, but she is only thinking about José. He has been jailed, after letting Carmen escape, and is about to be released. As Escamillo leaves, the smugglers El Dancairo and El Remendado join Carmen and the others. They need them to divert the attention of the port authorities. The smugglers want to leave with the girls, but Carmen wants to wait for José. The smugglers suggest that Carmen should encourage José to join them. As Don José arrives, Carmen dances for him and  persuades him to join the traffickers. When Zuniga appears, the two men fight and the smugglers rush back in to separate them. José agrees to join the smugglers.  

⏤ INTERMISSION ⏤

ACT III - Smugglers’ Warehouse

Don José is depressed as Carmen has left him for Escamillo, and he regrets having sacrificed everything for her. The smugglers go away,  leaving José to guard the drugs. Micaela appears, looking for José, exactly as Escamillo arrives to meet Carmen. He introduces himself to Don José, and tells him he came to find Carmen, with whom he  is in love. José challenges Escamillo to a knife-fight, and the smugglers return and separate them. Escamillo invites the smugglers to his next bullfight. The smugglers are about to leave, when Remendado discovers Micaela hiding. She tells José that his mother has sent her to plead him to come home with her. Carmen tells him to leave but he swears  he would not let her go off with her new lover. Micaela, however, in a last desperate effort to persuade him, tells José that his mother is dying and longs to see him. He decides to leave with Micaela, threatening Carmen that they will meet again. 

ACT IV - The Iron Market

It is the evening of Escamillo’s gambling ring in the Iron Market. He appears, Carmen on his arm, and then leaves to check on preparations. A street vendor tells Carmen that José is hiding in the crowd, watching her, and that she should be careful. She is scornful of the warnings and remains in the market. When José arrives, he tells her he has not come to threaten her but to beg for her love. She rejects him cruelly. In a fit of rage, José kills Carmen.

HAVE A LISTEN…

Book our studio artists to come to your school or community center for a special preview performance of Bizet’s masterpiece through our In-School Programs and Studio Artists.