MIDDLEBURY — Mezzo-soprano Clémentine Margaine reprises her remarkable portrayal of opera’s ultimate seductress, with impassioned tenor Roberto Alagna as her lover, Don José, in the ever-popular “Carmen.” Opera Company of Middlebury alumnus Yonghoon Lee played Don José earlier in the show’s run. Omer Meir Wellber and Louis Langrée share conducting duties for Sir Richard Eyre’s powerful production, a Met favorite since its 2009 premiere. Catch the show live in HD at Middlebury’s Town Hall Theater on Saturday, Feb. 2.
Bizet’s masterpiece of the gypsy seductress who lives by her own rules has had an impact far beyond the opera house. “Carmen’s” melodic sweep is as irresistible as the title character herself, a force of nature who has become a defining female cultural figure. Carmen was a scandal at its premiere but soon after became a triumphal success and has remained one of the most frequently staged operas in the world.
The opera takes place in and around Seville, a city that, by the time “Carmen” was written, had already served many operatic composers as an exotic setting conducive to erotic intrigues and turmoil (Rossini’s “Il Barbiere di Siviglia” and Verdi’s “La Forza del Destino,” among others). The hometown of Don Juan, the city also inspired Mozart with “Don Giovanni,” and Beethoven used Seville as the setting for a study of marital fidelity in “Fidelio.”
Run time for Saturday’s performance is approximately 3 hours and 21 minutes. Jim Pugh will give a pre-show talk in the Byers Studio at 12:15 p.m. The show begins at 1 p.m. Refreshments provided, courtesy of the Opera Company of Middlebury.
Tickets are $24/ $10 students plus fees and may be purchased at townhalltheater.org, by calling (802) 382-9222, at the THT box office (Monday-Saturday 12-5 p.m.) or at the door an hour before show time.