What to Look for in Carmen

This production of Carmen, created in collaboration the action takes place in a more unglamorous part of the with San Diego Opera and Opéra de Montréal, is set in bullfight arena, in the corridors under the seats, next to the an undetermined location in Latin America. The original washrooms. production director, Mark Lamos, and set designer, Michael Yeargan, were inspired by the art direction of a Mexican film The costumes, by François St-Aubin, set the piece in Y tu mamá también (2001), with its emphasis on outdoor the 1930s–1940s. Escamillo’s look suggests a rock living. In the design of Carmen, Lamos emphasizes the star, like Elvis Presley. The men in the chorus wear wide poverty of the characters and the feel of the heat. Lamos legged pants, with singlets (tank tops) and summer shirts. suggests the characters are all looking for a better life, and The cigarette girls combine peasant tops, with scoop the unrelenting heat turns those desires into overwhelming necklines and short sleeves, with multicoloured skirts and passion. wedge shoes. Everyone has a headpiece of some kind: the men sport straw hats in many shapes and the women, The atmosphere in this production is slightly seedy. Act I headscarves, small hats and flowers. Micaëla stands out features a bustling town square and crumbling plastered from the group. As a young girl from a rural village, she walls covered with graffiti. Act II is set at an outdoor tavern; wears more obviously traditional clothes and a shawl over its shabbiness contrasts dramatically with the glamour her head. The members of Escamillo’s entourage are of Escamillo and his entourage. The smugglers in Act III dressed in a Hollywood style, with tighter-fitting dresses loiter in the ruins of a church in the mountains. In Act IV and more pronounced make-up.

Carmen debuted in Toronto in 1879. Click here to read more about that first performance, including reviews from the time!

Paulo Szot as Escamillo (centre) with the COC Chorus in Carmen (COC, 2005). Photo: Michael Cooper

Canadian Opera Company ~ Education and Outreach ~ Carmen Study Guide 2009/2010 ~ coc.ca ~ 416-306-2392