Premieres Sunday, June 16 at 12:00 p.m. on PBS (check local listings)
Season 13 of Great Performances at the Met continues with Bizet’s masterpiece Carmen premiering Sunday, June 16 at 12 p.m. on PBS (check local listings). Clémentine Margaine reprises her role as opera’s ultimate seductress alongside Roberto Alagna as her impassioned lover Don José. Aleksandra Kurzak and Alexander Vinogradov round out the cast. Louis Langrée conducts.
Sir Richard Eyre’s production takes place in Seville, Spain, where the men of the town gather to watch the female workers – especially their favorite, the alluring gypsy Carmen. However, the corporal Don José does not pay her any attention, as he is set to marry his long time love Micaëla, prompting Carmen to throw a flower at him. After a fight in a factory with another woman, Carmen is captured and imprisoned by José. She then seduces the corporal and escapes imprisonment. Following her escape, Carmen meets the bullfighter Escamillo, but rejects his advances since she and José have fallen in love. Later, Carmen convinces the corporal to abandon the army and Micaëla for a life of freedom in the mountains, but a fading love and a foreseen death cast doom on their relationship. The manipulative Carmen arrives to a bullfight on the arm of Escamillo, driving José into a desperate and fatal rage in this tragic love story. Ailyn Pérez hosts.
Airdates:
National: Sunday, June 16 at 12 p.m. on PBS (check local listings)
New York metro area: Sunday, June 16 at 1 p.m. on THIRTEEN
Notable Talent:
Clémentine Margaine – Carmen
Roberto Alagna – Don José
Aleksandra Kurzak – Micaëla
Alexander Vinogradov – Escamillo
Ailyn Pérez – host
Noteworthy Fact:
Clémentine Margaine made her debuts at the Metropolitan Opera and Paris Opera in the signature role of Carmen in 2017 to widespread acclaim.
Run time: 3 hours
Production Credits:
Louis Langrée – conductor
Sir Richard Eyre – production
Rob Howell – set and costume designer
Peter Mumford – lighting designer
Christopher Wheeldon – choreographer
For the Met, Gary Halvorson directs the telecast. Tim Martyn is Music Producer. Mia Bongiovanni and Elena Park are Supervising Producers, and Louisa Briccetti and Victoria Warivonchik are Producers. Peter Gelb is Executive Producer. For Great Performances, Bill O’Donnell is Series Producer and David Horn is Executive Producer.
Underwriters:
Corporate support for Great Performances at the Met is provided by Toll Brothers, America’s luxury home builder®. Major funding for the Met Opera presentation is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts. This Great Performances presentation is funded by the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Arts Fund, The Philip and Janice Levin Foundation and public television viewers.
