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“Love stays away, you wait and wait; when least expected, there it is!” 
She is said to seduce all the men with her free-spiritedness and her Spanish folklore, as she sings “Love is a rebellious bird”… Until she is killed by one of the men.

“Is Carmen really the free, independent woman we think she is, or is she rather the prisoner of the very myth of the free, independent woman? Isn’t it precisely the men who attribute this free-spiritedness to her, so that their conquest of her is all the more rewarding? Carmen tries to make decisions that go in an unexpected, unconventional direction. But is that the definition of freedom? Isn’t the consistent decision to go against convention also a kind of straitjacket?” (Lotte de Beer)

Act 1

At a square in Seville, soldiers comment on the people. Micaëla, a village girl, asks the soldiers about the sergeant Don José. He will not be back until after the relief of the guard, so Micaëla will return later.

The female workers at the cigarette factory are on a break. One of them, the bohemian Carmen, has her sights set on Don José. However, he seems unimpressed by her advances.

Micaëla sends love and regards from Don José’s mother who lives in a village not far from Seville. In a letter the mother suggests Don José to marry Micaëla. But Don José is already enthralled by a different kind of love: When he is called away to the cigarette factory to settle a dispute and has to arrest Carmen, love turns into passion: he helps her to escape.

Act 2

In the tavern of Lillas Pastia, a smugglers' den disguised as a bar, one month later. Lieutenant Zuniga, another admirer of Carmen, is at the tavern, but public attention turns to the torero Escamillo, celebrating a successful bullfight. He as well is attracted to Carmen. But Carmen impatiently awaits Don José, who was imprisoned after Carmens escape. After being released his love for Carmen is unchanged. She tries to talk him into becoming a deserter and joining the smugglers. Don José gets into a fight with Lieutenant Zuniga. Zuniga is disarmed and thrown out. Then there is no turning back for Don José now.

Act 3

In the mountains, the bohemians Frasquita and Mercédès ask the cards about their destiny. Carmen also reads the cards: she is destined to die. But in death she will finally be free. She has become indifferent to José. She and her companions will distract the customs officers while the smugglers pass through. José stays behind as a sentry. 

Micaëla – triumphing over fear with the help of love and God – has found her way to the smugglers. She witnesses Don José shooting Escamillo, who only just escapes death. He is apparently stalking Carmen. Out of jealousy Don José reaches for the knife. A fight ensues, Escamillo falls, and it is only the intervention of Carmen and the smugglers that prevents the torero's death.

Act 4

The arena in Seville, sometime later. The people gather for a bullfight and marvel at the procession of the toreros. Escamillo appears, presenting Carmen as his trophy.

Don José confronts Carmen, begging her for her love. But Carmen throws the ring he once gave her at his feet.

While Escamillo is cheered, Don José stabs Carmen. She dies and he surrenders to the police.

Cast

Conductor
Ben Glassberg
Stage direction
Lotte de Beer
Costume design
Jorine van Beek
Choreography
Gail Skrela
Choir director
Roger Díaz-Cajamarca
Lighting design
Alex Brok
Carmen
Katia Ledoux
Don José
Tomislav Mužek
Escamillo,Toreador
Josef Wagner
Micaëla
Iulia Maria Dan
Frasquita
Alexandra Flood
Mercedes
Maria Hegele
Zuniga
Pablo Santa Cruz
Morales,Sergeant
Modestas Sedlevičius
Remendado
Karl-Michael Ebner
Dancaïro
Marco Di Sapia
Lillas Pastia
Gerhard Kasal
Eine Verkäuferin
Angela Riefenthaler
Ein Schmuggler
Stefan Tanzer