Recently in Repertoire

Rimsky-Korsakov – Mozart and Salieri

Mozart and Salieri, an opera in one act consisting of two scenes.

Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908), composer. Libretto derived from Alexander Puskhin's play of the same name.

First performance: 7 December 1898 in Moscow.

Strauss – Ariadne auf Naxos

Ariadne auf Naxos, Oper with a prologue and one act. Music composed by Richard Strauss. Libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal.

Spontini – La Vestale

La Vestale, a tragédie lyrique in three acts.

Mussorgsky – Boris Godunov

Boris Godunov, an opera in four acts with prologue


Modest Mussorgsky, composer. Libretto by the composer, based on Alexander Pushkin's drama Boris Godunov and Nikolai Karamazin's History of the Russian Empire


First performance: 8 February 1874 at the Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg

Verdi – Il Trovatore (La Scala 1930)

Il Trovatore, dramma in four parts.

Strauss – Ariadne auf Naxos (Salzburg 1954)

Only a few months following the premiere of Der Rosenkavalier, Hugo von Hofmannsthal proposed a new opera to Richard Strauss based on Molière’s comedy-ballet, Le Bourgeois gentilhomme (in German, Der Bürger als Edelmann).

MOZART: Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Berlin 1949)

Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Singspiel in 3 Acts.

Music composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791). Libretto by Johann Gottlieb Stephanie the Younger, based on an earlier libretto by Christoph Friedrich Bretzner.

MOZART: Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Aix-En-Provence 1954)

Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Singspiel in 3 Acts.

Music composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791). Libretto by Johann Gottlieb Stephanie the Younger, based on an earlier libretto by Christoph Friedrich Bretzner.

STRAUSS: Arabella – Dresden 2005

Arabella: Lyrische Komödie in three acts

MOZART: Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Vienna 1956)

Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Singspiel in 3 Acts.

Music composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791). Libretto by Johann Gottlieb Stephanie the Younger, based on an earlier libretto by Christoph Friedrich Bretzner.

PONCHIELLI: La Gioconda

La Gioconda, dramma lirico in four acts.
Music composed by Amilcare Ponchielli (1834–1886). Libretto by Arrigo Boito (under the pseudonym Tobia Gorrio), based upon Victor Hugo's Angelo, Tyrant of Padua (1835).

VERDI: Don Carlo

Don Carlo, an opera in four acts. Music composed by Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901). Libretto by Joseph Méry and Camille Du Locle after Friedrich von Schiller’s dramatic poem Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien. Revised version in four acts (French text revised by Du Locle, Italian translation by Achille de Lauzières and Angelo Zanardini).

VERDI: Un ballo in maschera

Un ballo in maschera, a melodramma in three acts.

Music composed by Giuseppe Verdi. Libretto by Antonio Somma, based upon the work of Eugène Scribe Gustave III ou Le bal masqué (1833)

Giovanni Pacini: Medea

Medea: Melodramma tragico in three acts.

Erich Wolfgang Korngold: Die Tote Stadt

Die Tote Stadt, an opera in three acts.

Music composed by Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897-1957). Libretto by Paul Schott (Julius and E. W. Korngold) after the novel Bruges la morte by Georges Rodenbach.

Stendhal on the Rossini Revolution

Some Details concerning the Revolution inaugurated by Rossini

PUCCINI: Manon Lescaut

Manon Lescaut, dramma lirico in quattro atti

STRAUSS : Elektra

Elektra: Tragedy in one act.

Lyric Opera of Chicago’s 2020 Ring Cycle

Lyric Opera of Chicago has announced both schedules and cast-lists for is Spring 2020 performances of Richard Wagner’s Ring Cycle. Given the series of individual productions already staged by the company since Fall 2016, that pave the way for the complete cycle, Lyric Opera of Chicago’s complete production should affirm the artistic might of the great composer.

Carlo Diacono: L’Alpino

“Diacono himself does not know what musical talent he possesses” – Mascagni

OPERA TODAY ARCHIVES »

Repertoire

Georges Bizet: Carmen
27 Feb 2007

BIZET: Carmen

Opéra comique in four acts.

Music composed by Georges Bizet (1838-1875). Libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy after Prosper Mérimée’s novella, Carmen.

Georges Bizet: Carmen

Gabriella Besanzoni (Carmen), Piero Pauli (Don José), Ernesto Besanzoni (Escamillo), Maria Carbone (Micaëla), Nerina Ferrari (Frasquita), Tamara Beltacchi (Mercédès), Emilio Venturini (El Remendado), Attilio Bordonali (Moralès), Nello Palai (El Dancairo), Enrico Spada (Zuniga), Orchestra e Coro del Teatro alla Scala di Milano, Carlo Sagajno (cond.)
Recorded 1931

 

First Performance: 3 March 1875, Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart), Paris.

Principal Characters:
Carmen, a gypsy Mezzo-Soprano
Don José, a corporal Tenor
Escamillo, a bullfighter Bass
Micaëla, a country girl Soprano
Zuniga, a lieutenant Bass
Moralès, a corporal Baritone
Frasquita, a gypsy Soprano
Mercédès, a gypsy Soprano
Lillas Pastia, an innkeeper Nonsinging Role
Andrès, a lieutenant Tenor
Le Dancaïre, a smuggler Tenor/Baritone
Le Remendado, a smuggler Tenor
A Gypsy Bass
A Guide Nonsinging Role
An Orange-Seller Contralto
A Soldier Nonsinging Role
The Alcalde Nonsinging Role

Setting: Sevilla, c. 1830.

Synopsis:

Act I

Soldiers and townspeople mill around in a square in Seville. A young peasant girl, Micaela, asks the soldiers if they have seen her sweetheart, Don José. Telling her he'll be back soon, they try to persuade her to stay with them, but she declines. The relief soldiers, including Don José, arrive. Factory bells ring, and a group of cigarette girls emerges from the factory where they work, including the popular gypsy beauty, Carmen. She focuses her attention on Don José, who pretends not to notice. Before leaving, she seductively tosses a flower at him. Alone, Don José recovers the flower and reflects on Carmen's charms. Micaela finds him and delivers both a letter and a chaste kiss from his mother, who asks her son to marry Micaela. Don José promises his love and fidelity to Micaela, despite the temptations of Carmen. A ruckus erupts from the cigarette factory. Carmen has injured another woman, and the officer Zuniga commands Don José to jail Carmen. But Don José succumbs to her charms. He agrees to a rendezvous and lets Carmen escape.

Act II

At Lillas Pastia's inn, Carmen and her friends Frasquita and Mercedes consort with Zuniga and other soldiers. A group of revelers arrives, celebrating Escamillo, the illustrious bullfighter. The crowd cheers as Escamillo boasts of his victories. He notices Carmen, but she remains indifferent. Zuniga, also smitten, tells Carmen that he plans to return to the inn later to visit her. When the crowd disperses, the smugglers Remendado and Dancairo try to enlist the aid of Carmen, Frasquita, and Mercedes. Mercedes and Frasquita agree to help them smuggle contraband, but Carmen, expecting Don José, wants to stay at the inn. Don José arrives, and Carmen dances for him. But distant bugles signal him to return to his quarters and he prepares to leave. Carmen mocks his obedience and encourages him to run away with her and lead the free gypsy life. Don José remains unconvinced until Zuniga returns to the inn seeking Carmen. In a jealous rage, Don José defies his officer's orders to leave. As the smugglers pounce on Zuniga and escort him out of the inn, Don José has no choice but to remain with the gypsies.

Act III

At the mountain hideout of the smugglers, Don José longs for his mother, who still believes him an honest man. Carmen taunts him and urges him to leave, but he refuses. Frasquita and Mercedes tell their fortunes with a deck of cards. When Carmen takes her turn, the cards foretell death for her and Don José. The gypsies set off to smuggle contraband, leaving Don José behind to guard the camp. Micaela arrives at the mountain hideout searching for Don José and hides among the rocks. Escamillo approaches the camp looking for Carmen. He and Don José exchange words and begin to fight. But the smugglers return in time to stop Don José from wounding Escamillo, who invites them all to the bullfight in Seville. Her hiding place discovered, Micaela begs Don José to return home to his mother, who is dying. Despite his violent jealousy, Don José leaves with Micaela.

Act IV

At the bullfight, a crowd gathers to watch the procession of toreadors. Escamillo and Carmen arrive together. Mercedes and Frasquita warn Carmen that Don José is lurking about. Carmen, unafraid, waits alone for Don José. He approaches and begs her to leave with him. She insists that their affair is over, that she does not love him anymore, and that she now loves Escamillo. As Don José's demands become more desperate, Carmen throws at him the ring he once gave her. Don José murders Carmen, while the crowd inside the bullring cheers Escamillo.

[Synopsis Source: New York City Opera Project]

Click here for the complete libretto.

Click here for the complete score.

Click here for the full text of the novella.

Send to a friend

Send a link to this article to a friend with an optional message.

Friend's Email Address: (required)

Your Email Address: (required)

Message (optional):