Carmen

Ganz Hall at Roosevelt University:

Please enter via 425 S Wabash Ave, Chicago, IL 60605 in the evenings.

In a square in Seville, all sorts of people mingle – soldiers, street urchins, and cigarette factory girls. Among them, Micaëla is looking for Don José. During the cigarette girls’ break, most of the soldiers’ eyes wander to the seductive Carmen as she sings her famous habanera – José, however, ignores her. She throws him a flower and he waits until everyone has left to pick it up.
Micaëla finds José and they nearly plan to return home and get married to fulfill his mother’s wishes. However, they’re interrupted by commotion in the factory; Carmen has drawn a knife on another woman. José is tasked with holding her in custody while a warrant is prepared, but instead, Carmen seduces him, causing her escape and his own arrest.

A few months later, Carmen is happy to learn that José has been released, but the bullfighter Escamillo, introduced by the famous Toreador song, also has his eyes on the beautiful Carmen. José realizes that Carmen’s pull is stronger than his military duty and officially abandons his post. However, their love is too intense to last, and they are pursued by Micaëla, who wants what’s best for José, and Escamillo, who wants Carmen for himself. Carmen also receives an ominous indication that her future holds only death.

Carmen, bored of José, goes off with Escamillo and even joins him at his next bullfight, where José decides to confront Carmen one last time in an attempt to tame her wild love. However, he was warned when he heard the words of her habanera: “If you love me, beware!” The tragic pair are both driven by their worst impulses in the opera’s dramatic conclusion.

Bizet’s Carmen, one of the most popular operas of all time, was not well received at first due to its scandalous subject matter. Bizet died before he could see it become an incredible success. Today, its iconic melodies, crafted from Bizet’s lifelong interest in Spanish music, are among the most widely recognized opera tunes outside of the opera house.

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