VETERAN producer Ellen Kent returns to the concert hall after acclaimed tours of ‘Madama Butterfly’, ‘Traviata’ and ‘Rigoletto’. We hear that she is “bringing the heat and passion of Spain in this magnificent production of ‘Carmen’, inspired by Kent’s years in Andalucía as a teenager”.
While her company Opera and Ballet International presented ‘Carmen’ in the Autumn of 2013 here, this year’s is a new set to reflect the architecture of Seville of that era and its main square with Roman and Moorish influences. Saturday November 7 at 8pm is the date for Limerick at UCH.
“Carmen is the story of the bewitching gypsy girl whose tantalising beauty lures a soldier to desertion and leads to her own murder. The opera includes some of the most evocative and loved melodies in opera – ‘The Habanera’, ‘The Seguidilla’, ‘The Flower Song’, ‘Chanson Bohème’ and perhaps the best known baritone aria of all, ‘The Toreador’s Song’.”
Don José, the insolent and dashing officer and Escamillo, a real and figurative Toreador, are the lovers pitted in the town’s amphitheatre.
Kent, an English woman, has created memorable productions of this Bizet over the decades, including one for a visit to the Middle East in 2004 where she entertained the Emir of Qatar and 3,500 royal guests.
It was the first performance of ‘Carmen’ in The Gulf and was screened live on Al Jazeera television.
Introducing Liza Kadelnik, international mezzo-soprano from the Romanian National Opera, together with the Bulgarian mezzo-soprano Nadezhda Stoianova as ‘Carmen’.
Booking at www.uch.ie