Stavros Niarchos Hall<\/p>\n
Opera<\/p>\n
Carmen<\/p>\n
Georges Bizet<\/p>\n
Co-production: Bru Zane France \/ Op\u00e9ra Royal \u2013 Ch\u00e2teau de Versailles Spectacles \/ Op\u00e9ra Orchestre Normandie Rouen \/ Palazzetto Bru Zane \u2013 Centre de musique romantique fran\u00e7aise<\/p>\n
Opera \u2022 New production \u2022 Historical staging of 1875<\/strong><\/p>\n GNO Stavros Niarchos Hall \u2013 SNFCC <\/strong>Starts at: 19.00<\/strong> (Sunday: 18.30<\/strong>) | <\/p>\n Lead Donor of the GNO<\/strong><\/p>\n Production sponsor<\/strong><\/p>\n The Greek National Opera presents Carmen<\/em> in a unique production that re-creates the historic premiere of Georges Bizet\u2019s <\/a>masterpiece, which originally took place at the Op\u00e9ra-Comique in Paris in 1875. The production will be performed at the Stavros Niarchos Hall of the GNO at the SNFCC from 30 April to 4 June 2026, conducted by Konstantinos Terzakis, directed by Romain Gilbert, and featuring a cast of world-class opera stars.<\/strong> The title role will be shared by Ga\u00eblle Arquez, Anita Rachvelishvili and Marina Viotti.<\/strong><\/p>\n Carmen<\/em> by Georges Bizet is an emblematic landmark of the global operatic repertoire, marking the final break from the artistic conventions of its time and the transition of opera towards the brutal realism of verismo. It had its world premiere on 3 March 1875 at the Op\u00e9ra-Comique in Paris. Despite its initially turbulent reception, it eventually evolved into one of the most celebrated works in opera history, redefining the relationship between musical language and dramaturgy.<\/strong> Carmen<\/em> is an existential drama filled with fatal passions and themes of social marginalisation, which, combined with the exploration of exotic sound worlds and folk melodies, fascinatingly elevates the titular character as a symbol of absolute freedom.<\/p>\n The story transports us to Seville in 1830, where an encounter between the wild Gypsy woman Carmen and Lieutenant Don Jos\u00e9 sets off a series of catastrophic events. When Jos\u00e9, captivated by her charm, helps her escape, his downfall becomes inevitable. The arrival of the famous toreador Escamillo, who wins Carmen\u2019s heart, along with the futile effort of the loyal Mica\u00ebla to bring Jos\u00e9 back to his dying mother, drives his jealousy to extremes. In a final confrontation outside the arena in Seville, Carmen stubbornly refuses to deny herself and chooses death over submission. As the crowd celebrates the victorious Escamillo, she falls dead from Jos\u00e9\u2019s knife, sealing with her blood the timeless struggle of women against a societal system that fails to control them.<\/p>\n Carmen <\/em>tells a captivating story of passion and defiance, clearly revealing the character of its heroes through its uniquely inspired musical composition. The libretto by Meilhac and Hal\u00e9vy, based on M\u00e9rim\u00e9e\u2019s novel, recounts a woman\u2019s pursuit of absolute freedom and her refusal to conform to societal conventions. Carmen<\/strong><\/em> does not just tell the story of a tragic romance; it also addresses questions of self-determination, gender violence, and the individual\u2019s struggle against patriarchal structures, turning the music into a \u2018mirror\u2019 that reflects society\u2019s internal conflicts and dead ends.<\/strong><\/p>\n In the context of the GNO 2025\/26 season\u2019s thematic focus, \u2018The opera of the future arises from the womb of the past\u2019<\/strong>, the GNO presents, for the first time in Greece, a faithful reconstruction of the historical premiere of Carmen<\/em>, which took place at the Op\u00e9ra-Comique in Paris in 1875. Through extensive study of the original staging manuals and the designs for the sets and costumes from that inaugural production, the Palazzetto Bru Zane \u2013 Centre de musique romantique fran\u00e7aise has created a unique reconstruction of the performance, preserving the stunning sets and costumes that Georges Bizet himself personally oversaw 151 years ago.<\/strong><\/p>\n Through the recreation of the 1875 premiere, this production\u2014which has been successfully presented at the Op\u00e9ra Orchestre Normandie Rouen, the Op\u00e9ra Royal \u2013 Ch\u00e2teau de Versailles Spectacles, Opera Hong Kong, Hanoi Opera House, and the Dallas Opera\u2014offers contemporary audiences the possibility to explore the \u2018first youth\u2019 of opera and discover ways in which we can \u2018illuminate\u2019 the past through modern artistic mechanisms.<\/p>\n The production is directed by the acclaimed young French stage director, Romain Gilbert<\/strong>, who has recently staged major repertoire works in prestigious venues, including the operas of Barcelona, Naples, Dallas, Bordeaux, Versailles, and the Aix-en-Provence and Baden-Baden Festivals. The directorial challenge lies in the director\u2019s ability to create within a framework that appears, from the start, to be completely predefined by the surviving archival documents from the opera\u2019s world premiere. As Romain Gilbert pointedly remarks, \u201cthat intoxicating thing: freedom!<\/em>\u201d is not cancelled, but rather demarcated and redefined through profound knowledge of the material. The staging manuals (livrets de mise en sc\u00e8ne<\/em>), the set and costume designs as well as the historical sources do not function as a constraint, but rather as a fertile context, \u201cin which variety, creativity, imagination, and subtlety<\/em>\u201d can be highlighted. Where the sources are exhaustively accurate\u2014such as in the arrangement of the stage, the movements of the chorus, and the geometry of bodies\u2014the stage direction must follow as precisely as possible. However, where \u201cthe source suddenly switches from garrulity to virtual silence<\/em>\u201d, a meaningful space opens for creation and dialogue between the historical documents and a new artistic expression.<\/strong> In the extensive melodic sections, duets, and moments of inner tension, the director\u2019s work shifts from creating an overall image to focusing on the micro-scale of human expression, including gestures, looks, and body positions. The direction of the performers thus takes on great importance and comes back to the foreground, demanding precision, insistence, and an almost pictorial approach to the stage \u201ctableaux\u201d. Through this process, certain lesser-known aspects of Romantic theatre are also highlighted: its subtlety and discipline, which have often been overshadowed by subsequent perceptions. The modern director, armed with this knowledge, does not just reproduce the past; they bring it to life again, stamping their own aesthetic signature on it. At this point, too, the very dramaturgy of Carmen <\/em>meets artistic creativity through the stage direction and the idea that \u201cwhoever wants to be free, is free<\/em>\u201d\u2014an idea through which the reconstruction turns into a vibrant and lively experience of freedom.<\/p>\n The work\u2019s scenography by Antoine Fontaine<\/strong>, who has extensive experience in creating stage worlds for opera, moves between historical documentation and creative reconstruction in a way distinct from the stage direction, as the lack of documentation for the original sets requires the artist to intervene in the set design. Drawing on sources of visual art from that era, he has reconstructed a stage world through painted canvases and perspectives, while using modern lighting techniques to evoke the warm atmosphere of a gas-lit stage. <\/strong>Meanwhile, the iconic fashion designer Christian Lacroix\u2019s<\/strong><\/a> vision for Carmen<\/em>\u2019s costumes draws on elements from that period\u2019s illustrations, using rare materials and techniques to capture the aesthetic and spirit of 1875, while taking into account the inevitable distance introduced by the passage of time. The reconstruction of the costumes is not seen as an exact copying process, but as a delicate \u2018translation\u2019 of forms, textures, and colours that are brought back to life on stage.<\/strong> The goal is to reveal the work\u2019s original glamour through a filter of theatricality and poetic atmosphere. The creative team is completed by choreographer Vincent Chaillet<\/strong>, who directs the movement of the protagonists, the dancers and the Chorus, and lighting designer Herv\u00e9 Gary<\/strong>, whose atmospheres enhance the stage magic of this production.<\/p>\n