Bizet’s CARMEN
Carmen is the ideal introduction to the world of opera. Even if the action takes place in Seville and its outskirts, the way it is treated is decidedly French. In Olivier Py’s production, as presented by the Opéra de Lyon, CARMEN takes place in a Parisian nightclub, Le Paradis Perdu, stuck between a police station and a hotel, as a nod towards the atmosphere that so shocked its first spectators 140 years ago.
Carmen by Georges Bizet (2012) by Olivier PyOpéra de Lyon
José Maria Lo Monaco embodies the title role, a daring Carmen with a fiery temperament. She has the ideal physique and the sensual voice of a mezzo.
Carmen by Georges Bizet (2012) by Olivier PyOpéra de Lyon
A flamboyant production in a spectacular setting.
Olivier Py plunges the audience into a feminine world in constant motion, which reproduces the gayety that Bizet put into his opera.
The show is first of all a set, designed by Pierre-André Weitz, spinning around on itself to reveal all the facets of a cabaret, the stage, wings, dressing rooms, and street, but Olivier Py brings them to life with astounding action.
Carmen by Georges Bizet (2012) by Olivier PyOpéra de Lyon
For Olivier Py, Carmen is the most perverse but also most innocent of women – he has presented her as an Eve holding the snake of a Paradise Lost serpent.
Carmen by Georges Bizet (2012) by Olivier PyOpéra de Lyon
He is Don José, she is Carmen, he loves order, she loves freedom, he loves only her, she loves him as she feels, in the moment, but free to stay if she wants, free to love who she wants, when she wants, and this will be the death of her.
Carmen, directed by Olivier Py - Making of productionOpéra de Lyon
Die Gezeichneten by Franz Shreker
It was necessary to wait for almost a century for France to acclaim Die Gezeichneten (The Stigmatised). Franz Shreker was seen to be the worthiest heir of Richard Wagner, and in 1918 this exceptional opera was triumphantly performed for the first time. David Bosch’s production transposes action into a nocturnal, post-apocalyptic world.
Die Gezeichneten by Schreker (2015) by David BoeschOpéra de Lyon
Die Gezeichneten by Schreker (2015) by David BoeschOpéra de Lyon
Alviano is an extremely rich nobleman: on an island near the city, he has had built “Elysium”, a place devoted to the beauty of nature and the arts, but which he has never seen and will never go, from a fear of ruining it: for Alviano is ugly. On the other hand, Tamare is an extremely handsome, confident nobleman, who has set up home on Alviano’s island and, unbeknown to him, opened a magnificent whorehouse, where the young Genoese rape the girls they have kidnapped. Between these two men, there is Carlotta, a painter.
Die Gezeichneten by Franz Shreker
Extracts of production
Die Gezeichneten by Schreker (2015) by David BoeschOpéra de Lyon
Carlotta has succeeded in discerning the utter beauty of Alviano’s soul, despite his deformities, and he agrees to pose for her.
Die Gezeichneten by Schreker - Interview with Alejo PerezOpéra de Lyon
Interview with Alejo Perez, conductor
Die Gezeichneten by Schreker - Interview with Magdalena Anna HofmannOpéra de Lyon
Interview with Magdalena Anna Hofmann, soprao
playing role of Carlotta
Die Gezeichneten by Schreker (2015) by David BoeschOpéra de Lyon
Alviano and Carlotta are in love with each other, but Carlotta is also attracted by the dominating beauty of Tamare, to whom she ends up with. Alviano kills Tamare, Carlotta lets herself die near the corpse, Alviano goes mad.
OPÉRA DE LYON
04 69 85 54 54
http://www.opera-lyon.com
Serge Dorny, general manager
The Lyon Opera is subsidized by the Ministry of Culture and Communication, the City of Lyon, the regional council of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region and the Metropole of Lyon.
Photos © Stofleth
