Met Opera Live in HD presents a modern take on ‘Carmen’

A reimagined staging of Georges Bizet’s classic, “Carmen,” will be broadcast Jan. 27 in at the O’Shaughnessy Center in Whitefish as part of the Metropolitan Opera Live in HD series.

Acclaimed English director Carrie Cracknell makes her Met debut, reinvigorating the timeless story with a staging that moves the action to the modern day and finds issues that could not be more relevant — gender-based violence, abusive labor structures, and the desire to break through societal boundaries. 

Sung in Italian with subtitles, Bizet’s “Carmen” has everything — high drama, passionate characters, a love story, and great melodies. 

Set in Seville, Spain, the opera begins with Carmen and her fellow factory workers leaving at the end of the workday. Local young men surround them and start flirting. Carmen explains her heart can’t be tied down and that love is free and obeys no rules. Only one man ignores her: Don José. As Carmen returns to work, José picks up a flower that Carmen has thrown to him and is about to throw it away, when a fight erupts inside the factory between Carmen and another woman. The commanding officer, Zuniga, sends José in to remove Carmen, but when he brings her outside, she refuses to answer the officer’s questions and José is ordered to lock her up. Left alone with him, she entices José with suggestions of a rendezvous at a private party outside of town. Mesmerized, Don José lets Carmen escape and he is consequently arrested. 

A month later at a gathering, Zuniga tells Carmen that José has just been released from custody. Escamillo, a rodeo star, enters with his entourage. He boasts about his profession and flirts with Carmen, who tells him that she is involved with someone else. When they depart, Carmen and her friends are left with smugglers who try to convince the women to get involved in their smuggling scheme. Carmen refuses because she is in love. José approaches and Carmen makes him jealous by telling him how she danced for Zuniga. She dances for José now, but he says that he must return to duty. She is unimpressed. If he loved her, he would quit the army and join her in a life of freedom in the mountains. José refuses and Carmen tells him to leave. Zuniga arrives looking for Carmen, and in a jealous rage, José fights him. The smugglers return and disarm Zuniga. José, having assaulted his superior officer, now has no choice but to join them. 

In the final acts, the life of Carmen and José as smugglers becomes contentious. They begin to quarrel, and she admits that her love is fading, advising him to return to live with his mother. Escamillo enters looking for Carmen, which spurns a fight between him and José. The smugglers separate them and Escamillo invites everyone, particularly Carmen, to see him compete in the upcoming rodeo. At the rodeo, Carmen arrives on Escamillo’s arm while José is nearby and can be seen watching her. José ultimately begs Carmen to forget the past and start a new life with him, but she calmly tells him that their affair is over and that she wants to live free until she dies. As José persists in trying to win Carmen back, she takes off his ring and throws it at his feet before heading for the arena. In a tragic climax, José stabs her to death. 

Bizet’s heart-pounding score is conducted by Daniele Rustioni, who was named Conductor of the Year at the International Opera Awards in 2022. Dazzling young mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina leads a powerhouse quartet of stars in the complex and volatile title role, alongside tenor Piotr Beczała as Carmen’s troubled lover Don José, soprano Angel Blue as the loyal Micaëla, and bass-baritone Kyle Ketelsen as the swaggering Escamillo. Rolando Villazón hosts the opera, and will offer exclusive behind-the-scenes content and cast interviews. 

Doors open at 10:30 a.m. and the opera starts at 10:55 a.m. Approximate run time is 3 hours and 30 minutes, including one 45-minute intermission. Food and beverage will be available for purchase during the performance.

Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for students, paid by cash or check only at the door.

The live broadcast is presented by Whitefish Theatre Company, in collaboration with the Whitefish Arts Council and the Whitefish Performing Arts Center,

For more information, visit www.whitefishtheatreco.org or call 862-5371.