Carmen

The popular opera "Carmen" by Georges Bizet is staged at the Cultural Conference Center of Heraklion, in collaboration with the Grattacielo Theatre of New York, from 11 to 14 May 2023.


In this new operatic co-production of the two artistic organizations, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Athens, under the musical direction of the renowned Myron Michaelides, co-operates with the Heraklion Choral Ensemble and a host of lyric artists, in a performance directed by the internationally renowned Greek director Stefanos Koroneos. Bizet's famous opera narrates the story of Don Jose’s catastrophe, a simple-minded soldier who is seduced by the seductive charms of the fiery gypsy Carmen. The depiction of impoverished life, immorality and lawlessness, and the tragic ending in which Don Jose jealously kills Carmen on stage, were pioneering features for French opera of the time. The work turns its back on fairy-tale dramas with queens, witches and knights and puts on stage workers, common soldiers, barefoot children, peasants and peasant girls. Bizet wrote for these heroes an immortal play, a hymn to women, to love, to passion and above all to freedom.