The Met: Live in HD 2023–24 season continues with a daring new production of Bizet’s Carmen on Saturday, January 27, at 12:55PM ET, presented by Fathom Events
Published by on Jan 18, 2024 1:06 PM
The Met: Live in HD 2023–24 season continues with a daring new production of Bizet’s Carmen on Saturday, January 27, at 12:55PM ET, presented by Fathom Events
Acclaimed director Carrie Cracknell’s production stars mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina, making Met history as the youngest lead in a new staging of Carmen
Soprano Angel Blue, tenor Piotr Beczała, and bass-baritone Kyle Ketelsen round out the powerhouse quartet of stars
DENVER (January 17, 2024)—The Metropolitan Opera’s 2023–24 Live in HD season continues with a live transmission of Bizet’s ever-popular Carmen on Saturday, January 27, at 12:55PM ET. In her highly anticipated Met debut, English director Carrie Cracknell reinvigorates the classic story of deadly passion with a new staging that moves the action to the modern day and explores themes that could not be more relevant today: gendered violence, abusive labor structures, and the desire to break through societal boundaries.
Fathom Events will also present two encores of Carmen on Wednesday, January 31, at 1:00PM and 6:30PM local time.
Tickets for Carmen are on sale through the Fathom Events website and participating theater box offices. For a complete list of theater locations, visit FathomEvents.com (participating theaters are subject to change).
The production stars young mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina, who made headlines in 2018 as the youngest artist ever to sing the title role at London’s Royal Opera House, at just 21 years old, and who now makes Met history as the youngest lead in a new staging of Carmen at the age of 27. World-renowned tenor Piotr Beczała also stars as Carmen’s troubled lover Don José, alongside soprano Angel Blue as the loyal Micaëla, and bass-baritone Kyle Ketelsen as the swaggering Escamillo. Maestro Daniele Rustioni conducts Bizet’s timeless score, which includes some of the most famous arias in opera, such as the Habanera and the Toreador Song.
Cracknell’s creative team includes veteran set designer Michael Levine. Making their Met debuts are costume designer Tom Scutt, lighting designer Guy Hoare, projection designer rocafilm/Roland Horvath, and choreographer Ann Yee.
Gary Halvorson will direct the Live in HD presentation for cinemas, with Grammy Award–winning mezzo-soprano Susan Graham as host, providing exclusive behind-the-scenes access and conducting interviews with the cast and creative team during intermission.
The Stars of Carmen
Daniele Rustioni, conductor; Milan, Italy
Aigul Akhmetshina, Carmen; Kirgiz-Miyaki, Russia
Angel Blue, Micaëla; Los Angeles, California
Piotr Beczała, Don José; Czechowice-Dziedzice, Poland
Kyle Ketelsen, Escamillo; Clinton, Iowa
Press Quotes
“A DARING NEW PRODUCTION OF CARMEN TAKES FLIGHT … Mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina made a magnetic … Carmen … A restless physicality that never cut into her singing … A Carmen that felt alive.”—The Washington Post
“Akhmetshina has an ideal voice for Carmen … Great technical command and musical suppleness … Act four was thrilling, the production ramping up to an intense and brutal climax … ★★★★”—Financial Times
“Akhmetshina has the vocal goods—a throaty, low sound with a hint of steel … Cast standouts included Kyle Ketelsen’s Escamillo, whose crisp diction and snappy delivery galvanized attention, and Angel Blue’s poignant yet strong-minded Micaëla.”
—The Wall Street Journal
“A magnetic Aigul Akhmetshina … truly impressive. She seems unfazed by the pressure, singing with easily penetrating evenness and clarity.”—The New York Times
“Not your grandmother’s Carmen … A fresh twist on Bizet’s tragic love story.”
—Vogue
“Akhmetshina brings a fresh, ferocious energy … Also marks the Met début of Carrie Cracknell, a British phenom whose spare productions of Greek tragedies have earned her a reputation as a deft and sensitive interpreter of complicated women’s stories.”
—The New Yorker
More Information
Click here and enter the password MetOpera2020 for photos of Carmen.
For further details on Carmen, please click here.
The 2023–24 Live in HD season continues with La Forza del Destino (live on March 9, with encores on March 13), Roméo et Juliette (live on March 23, with encores on March 27), La Rondine (live on April 20, with encores on April 24), and Madama Butterfly (live on May 11, with encores on May 15). All performances will be Saturday matinees transmitted live from the Met stage.
# # #
Contact
Colette Carey
About Fathom Events
Fathom is a recognized leader in the entertainment industry as one of the top distributors of content to movie theaters in North America. Owned by AMC Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: AMC); Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CNK); and Regal, a subsidiary of the Cineworld Group (LSE: CINE.L), Fathom operates the largest cinema distribution.
