CARMEN
Music by Georges Bizet
Libretto by Ludovic Halévy and Henri Meilhac
ACT I: In a town square in Seville, Moralès and some soldiers pass the time by commenting on the townspeople. Micaela appears, seeking José. The soldiers try to persuade her to stay until his return, but she declines and leaves. José arrives with the changing of the guard. A bell strikes the work hour, and the girls of the cigarette factory make their way through the crowd, making eyes at the men. Among them is Carmen, who seduces them all—except José. Carmen throws a flower at him, and all the girls enter the factory.
Micaela returns with a letter from José’s mother. Suddenly, sounds of a fight erupt from the factory. Women spill into the square, and Carmen is accused of wounding her co-worker with a knife. José ties her hands while his commander, Zuniga, leaves to prepare the prison warrant. Once they are alone, Carmen appeals to José to help her escape. He relents, and she flees, resulting in his arrest.
ACT II: At Lillas Pastia’s tavern, Carmen and her friends Frasquita and Mercédès entertain Zuniga and other officers. The bullfighter Escamillo arrives, boasts of his victories, and sets his sights on Carmen before leaving. Remendado and Dancairo enter, asking Carmen, Frasquita, and Mercédès to help them smuggle contraband. Carmen refuses, saying that she is waiting for José, her new lover.
José arrives, and Carmen dances for him. When a bugle call orders José to return to the barracks, she mocks him and demands that he prove his love by leaving with her; José refuses. Zuniga bursts in, and the two men brawl. Having attacked a superior officer, José now has no choice but to join Carmen and the smugglers.
ACT III: In the mountains around Seville, the smugglers are on their way to the border with their stolen goods. There is tension between Carmen and José. She leaves him and joins the women, who are using cards to tell their fortunes. For Carmen, the cards foresee only death.
José is left behind to guard the camp. Micaela arrives searching for him, but she hides when he fires his gun at an intruder. It is Escamillo, searching for Carmen. José is furious with jealousy, and they fight. The smugglers separate them, and Escamillo invites everyone—especially Carmen—to his next bullfight. Micaela is discovered and reveals to José that his mother is dying, begging him to return home. Carmen urges him to go. José decides to leave, but he warns Carmen that they will meet again.
ACT IV: Outside the bullring in Seville, the crowd cheers the bullfighters on their way to the arena. Carmen accompanies Escamillo. As he goes into the arena, Frasquita and Mercédès warn Carmen that José is nearby, but Carmen is unafraid and willing to speak to him. José appears and begs Carmen to start a new life with him, but she refuses: she was born free and free she will die. She casts aside a ring that José had given her. He stabs her as the crowd cheers Escamillo’s victory.
Adapted from a synopsis provided by OPERA America