The legendary dance-theatre Carmen, created by two leading figures of Spanish art —the dancer and choreographer Antonio Gades and the filmmaker Carlos Saura— was first presented in Paris in 1983, shortly after the release of their acclaimed film Carmen, which went on to win major awards at international festivals. Inspired by Prosper Mérimée’s 1845 novella, the stage production made an immediate impact, forging a mythic heroine who came to embody the very essence of the Spanish national spirit.
Carmen arrives at the Megaron under the signature of the Compañía Antonio Gades, the company founded by the legendary artist and now the official custodian of his artistic legacy. The leading roles are performed by four of the company’s most distinguished dancers: Esmeralda Manzanas as Carmen, Alvaro Madrid as Don José, Jairo Rodríguez as the Bullfighter, and Miguel Ángel Rojas as the Husband. They are joined by an exceptional ensemble of dancers and musicians from the company. The production is staged by Stella Arauzo —Antonio Gades’s long-time stage partner and Artistic Director of the Compañía— who faithfully revives the original choreography with profound respect for its authenticity.
The performance centers on the passionate love triangle between Don José, the Bullfighter, and Carmen, the fiercely independent gypsy woman whose sensuality is inseparable from her uncompromising devotion to personal freedom. As Gades himself noted: “Carmen is neither frivolous nor does she take pleasure in tormenting men. She is an honest woman—one who declares her love when she feels it and declares its absence just as clearly. I created this work in reaction to the false and stereotypical portrayals of her. Carmen gives herself fully to what she loves; she is tender and deeply feminine, yet at the same time she fights relentlessly for her emancipation, indifferent to the consequences.”
PRODUCTION: LAVRIS PRODUCTION
