Synopsis: The flamboyant Carmen succeeds in seducing Don Hossei, who already has a lover, and escapes from Don Hossei, who unties her after he is arrested for beating her. Don Hosse when he meets Carmen after their imprisonment, the two become very affectionate and get into a firefight with their superior, Lt. Chunica, who is also pursuing Carmen. Don Hossei is thus unable to return to his barracks and is forced to join Carmen's smuggling ring. With his conscience still intact, Don Hossei gets into a fight with Carmen before one of the smuggling operations. At this point, Micaela comes looking for Don Hossei, hoping to save her misguided lover. The bullfighter, who has also taken an interest in Carmen, comes close to a duel with Don Hossei, who is persuaded by Micaela to visit his mother, who is terminally ill. In the bullfighting ring, Carmen, unwilling to lose her freedom, refuses Don Hosse's request to start a new life with her. In a fit of rage, Don Hossei kills Carmen.
Screenplay by Halevi and Mellark, based on the novel of the same name by Mérimée.
Composer: Bizet
Premiere: March 3, 1875 at the Opéra Comique in Paris, France.
Appearances:
Carmen (Gypsy girl, tenor)
Donhosse (Corporal of the Young Guards, tenor)
Escamillo (bullfighter, baritone)
Micaela (country girl, fiancé of Donhosse, soprano)
Dangue de la Kelle (smuggler, tenor)
Remendado (smuggler, tenor)
Zú?iga (chief of guards, baritone)
Morales (corporal, baritone)
Frascita (gypsy girl, Carmen's girlfriend, soprano)
Mercedes (Carmen's girlfriend, tenor)
Also there are the hotel owner, the guides, the workwomen, the soldiers, smugglers, gypsies and street urchins.
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Overture Act I Act II Act III Act IV
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Almost everyone assumes that the overture to Carmen is giddy and enthusiastic and bright. Indeed, who wouldn't be uplifted when that theme rises abruptly from the orchestra!
(Score 1)
This melody was chosen by the composer from the last scene of the opera, it is the march of the bullfighter's entrance, full of male bravery, dashing spirit, and a kind of confidence of victory. The second melody in the overture is also very endearing, crisp, spacious and memorable after only one hearing.
(Score 2)
Once again, the composer enthusiastically gives us that opening march, and then, dryly, he lets the music draw to a close. This is the overture to Carmen that we all often hear at concerts. But, you know, in the pool of the opera house, there is no full stop here - there is another half of the overture, which surprisingly changes its mood at once: dark colors, hesitant rhythms, downward tones, as if weeping.
(Score 3)
This is the real theme of the opera Carmen: tragic, irresistible fate. It will appear from time to time throughout the opera, revealing to the listener the main theme of the story.
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Act I
The city of Seville, Spain.
It is a lively street square. Not far away is a tobacco factory, and close by is a soldier's post. Vendors hawk, urchins jostle, and pedestrians walk leisurely past.
A rural girl came looking around. She wore a plain long skirt and a long, thick scarf, and it was obvious at first glance that she was an honest person. Morales, at his post, greeted her and asked her what she wanted. It turned out that the girl had come to see Corporal Donhosse. Morales told her that in a few moments Don Jose would be coming to change the guard, so she might as well wait here. But the girl felt uncomfortable with strangers, so she excused herself.
Suddenly the children clamor - it's time to change the guard. In the humdrum of life, this moment in the day is very pleasing to them. Trumpets and snare drums were played, and a procession of soldiers came up to the field with some solemnity, but the solemnity was rendered comical by a troop of urchins, who followed, and whose mouths dribbled in imitation of the drums and trumpets, making the solemnity seem like a game of changing of the guard.
(Score 4)
Among the newly inducted soldiers was our hero, Don Hosse. This is a fine young man, and it shows in his face. When he hears that a girl from his home town has come to see him, he feels very happy. He tells the chief of the guard, Zuniga, that this lovely girl, Mikayla, is the very object of his affection.
The bells of the lunch break rang over at the tobacco factory. The square also comes alive all of a sudden, as a group of young men appear, specially waiting to flirt with the female workers of the tobacco factory. Look, they poured out from the factory, the look is really charming: lazy eyes, shapely body, but also in the fingers of a cigarette roll. In the haze of the smoke, their looks had an added charm. The composer wrote a beautiful chorus for the girls:
"The smoke drifted with the wind, and our eyes drifted to the sky with the smoke."
The lads went round to talk to the girls, and one of them asked:
"Why isn't Carmen here?"
The heroine, Carmen, makes her entrance to the light-hearted music. If you look closely, you'll see that the music is the "theme of destiny" from the overture, but at the moment it's not sad at all, it's very bright and cheerful.
What is Carmen like? She is different. Her dress is a bit worn, but it fits her perfectly and emphasizes her sexy figure. She had a golden lily in her ample bosom, and one in her mouth carelessly. And brightest of all, it was her eyes - she looked at no one, but no one could not help but be drawn to her.
The lads gathered around Carmen and sang attentively:
"Carmen, Carmen, tell us, when will you talk to us and give us love?"
It seemed that Carmen was not at all interested in the lads, and her eyes fell on the side of the post - Don José, who was polishing his gun, was handsome and reserved. Carmen had a sudden desire to conquer this soldier.
She swayed gently and sang a song in the rhythm of the Habanera:
(Score 5)
"To ask when? You can't make a wish if you don't know. Maybe forever say no, maybe today. There's no wishing today, that's obvious. ...... Love is a stubborn little bird, you don't want to shut it up, it's no use calling it and shouting at it, it won't come if it refuses. Whether you beg or threaten it, it gives you a disregard."
The enchanting song made Don Hosse look up, and his eyes met Carmen's fiery ones, and he hurriedly lowered his head again and resumed fiddling with his gun. The girl was so disruptive!
"I don't like the one who can talk, the silent one is my favorite."
Isn't that a blatant reference to Don Horsey.
"Love is like a stray child, to the law it does not answer at all. If you don't love me, I'll love you; if I love you, beware. When you think to hold the bird fast, it flaps its wings and flies away again, love leaves you and waits, but you don't wait for it, it comes back. You try to catch it, it flees, you try to avoid it, it comes back to mess with you! Love is like a stray child, to the law it doesn't answer at all. If you don't love me, I'll love you, I'll love you, beware."
The teasing song made the lads press on, and they professed their love to Carmen one after the other, but Carmen pushed the crowd away, and went straight to Don José, and plucked the golden lily from her breast, and threw it at Don José. The flower fell to the ground and people laughed. Don Horsey stood up awkwardly, not knowing what to do. Carmen turned around and walked away. The girls also left, as the lunch break was over and it was time to work again.
Donhosse quietly picked up the flower and said to himself with a confused look:
"This flower is like a bullet that hit me in the heart. If there are witches in the world who do harm, I see that she is one of them, no doubt about it."
Someone approached, it was Mikayla. Don Jose hid the flowers in his arms and greeted her.
Mikayla's face is full of joy and a little shy at the same time. She handed Don Horsey a letter and took out a small purse, saying that Don Horsey's mother had asked her to bring it.
Holding the letter and the wallet with body heat, Don Horsey felt very happy. He could not help but hold the girl's hand, watching this lovely face. Mikaela was embarrassed, but she gathered enough courage and recounted to Don Horsey:
"After your mother and I prayed in the church, she hugged me and kissed me. She said to me: please go to the city of Seville, which is not far away, and seek my son out. And you tell him that my mother's heart holds him day and night, and misses him, and hopes for him, and forgives him, and waits for him, and all this, my dear, in my name. And this kiss I give you, bring it to him yourself."
Mikaela stood on tiptoe, blushing, and gave Don Hosse a careful, motherly kiss.
Don Horsey was so touched that he gazed into Mikayla's pure eyes as if he were back home. Suddenly, he remembered the scene he had just witnessed, and could not help glancing in the direction of the cigarette factory, saying to himself:
"What a leprechaun that was, I almost fell into her trap!"
Mikaela wondered:
"What kind of goblin? What trap?"
Donhosse interrupted her question and said to the girl:
"Please tell my mother that I love and respect her very much. Her son is of good character, and I ask her to feel free to do so."
He tenderly took Mikaela and gave her a kiss.
"Please take this kiss, to my mother."
The composer wrote a heartfelt and touching duet for the young couple, contrasting it with Carmen's debauched "Habanera".
They bid a fond farewell. Don José takes out his mother's letter and prepares to read it carefully. He realizes that he still has the flowers that Carmen gave him hidden in his arms, and is about to throw them away when, suddenly, there is a loud noise coming from the factory.
The women workers rushed forward while shouting. They gibbered and complained to the guards who were standing watch. The chief of the guards had a hard time figuring out that it was Carmen who had gotten into a fight with one of the women workers and had injured the other.
Carmen was shoved in front of the guard post. The women workers accused her, but she didn't care and was humming la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la. The chief of the guard instructs Don Hosse to tie up her hands. Don José looked reluctant to approach the slutty girl, but Carmen took the initiative and put her hands behind her back, signaling him to bind them. Donhosse quickly completed the instructions, and the chief of guards instructed him to take Carmen into the guard room to be guarded again. He dispersed the women workers and went himself to ask his superiors for instructions on how to handle the situation.
Carmen and Donhosse were the only ones in the guardroom. Donhosse was not going to answer her, but Carmen said cheekily:
"You should have released me; the chief's orders are not impossible to disobey. Since you have fallen in love with me, you will do anything for me."
Donhosse cried, "I've fallen in love with you?"
"Yes, Don Horsey, didn't you not throw away the flowers I gave you?"
She was smug, and no matter how much Don José told her to shut up, she sang and danced the cycadia to the rhythm of the song with her unencumbered bare feet, her slinky waist, and her enchanting eyes:
(Score 6)
"Next to the city walls of Seville, my friend Pas Tia runs a hotel. We used to go and dance the Segitia and drink the Manzanilla. Alas, how lonely it is to be alone, and how truly happy to be in pairs. I need a soul mate, a lover to keep me company. I have a long list of suitors, but I can't pick one. Now that the weekend is upon us again, if anyone is interested, I am also interested, and he can take my soul."
Don Horsey was so flustered by the girl that all he could do was tell him to shut up again and again. But Carmen sang on as if she hadn't heard him:
"I am thinking of an officer who has fallen in love with me, and this officer is not a battalion commander or a company commander, he is just a small squad leader. That is enough for a gypsy girl. I'll make do with what I know."
Carmen's eyes were more enchanting than the song, and Donhosse's heart was stirred by her. He went so far as to unknowingly walk over and untie Carmen. Only to hear his "mouth" can not help but say to Carmen:
"Carmen, I already seem to be drunk ...... If I help you, will you not be faithful? Will you love me if I love you with all my heart?"
Carmen was contentedly singing as she slipped toward the door, when suddenly Don Hosse called to her - "The lieutenant is coming!"
Carmen hurriedly put her hands behind her back and made a show of behaving herself. The chief of guards handed Donhosse a warrant for Carmen's arrest and told him to escort her to the prison cell. Carmen gave Don José a quick wink and followed him out of the guardhouse.
There were many people in the square. The women workers, who have also left work, have gathered to watch the spectacle. Don Horsey escorted Carmen through the crowd, only to see Carmen holding her head high and humming a song, when suddenly she turned violently, pushed Don Horsey to the ground in one fell swoop, and quickly ran away. The women workers laughed and ridiculed Donhosse for being a fool. The head guard, Suniga, glared in anger.
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Act II
The scene is at the Hotel Pastia, as Carmen calls it. A group of people are here drinking and laughing. Among them are Carmen, whom we have come to know well, and Suniga, the head guard. Two gypsy girls are dancing, and Carmen, delighted to see this, gets up and sings a warm and cheerful gypsy song for the group:
(Score 7)
"How mellifluous is the sound of that guitar-guitar, which carries with it a crisp, metallic sound, and at the sound of this marvellous music, the gypsy girls dance more merrily."
The music grew more and more enthusiastic, and Carmen did not sit down in her chair at once until she was panting and sweating from dancing.
Zuniga tells Carmen that Don José is in solitary confinement for letting her go. But now he's free. He also tells Carmen that he likes her a lot. Before Carmen can reply, she hears a ruckus outside the door, and the girls all stretch their necks to look out. Ah, the matador had come!
Surrounded by people, a tall, godly matador walked into the hotel. The people cheered and praised him, which made him even prouder, and he took a glass of wine handed to him by one of the soldiers and sang in a loud voice:
"Drink up, valiant warriors, and accept my heartfelt congratulations. For bullfighters and all you soldiers get just as much pleasure from fighting."
(Score 8)
He recounts the tension and fun of the bullfight:
"The arena was as festive as a festival, full of men, women and children from top to bottom. The spectators were literally fainting, shouting and yelling in a great wave. Suddenly, everyone fell silent as a bull came charging out of the bars. It was filled with fury and knocked down the lancer on his horse. The crowd leaped over the fence to escape, and now it is your turn to show off!"
The people chorused enthusiastically:
"Matador, get ready, in gallant fight, remember, there's a pair of black eyes waiting for you!"
This chorus is the crisp, sprawling melody we've heard in the overture at the beginning, and it's truly uplifting.
Carmen is captivated by the bullfighter Escamillo, who seems to be interested in her as well, always turning his eyes toward Carmen as he sings. When the song is over, he approaches Carmen to ask for her name, saying that he calls her name in times of danger. Carmen gladly told him, but did not accede to his advances. Undaunted, Escamillo says he will wait and walks away, surrounded by people. The chief of the guard, Zú?iga, who was also rather sorry for Carmen's coldness, followed resentfully out of the little hotel.
The place was quiet. Two smugglers were whispering about the plan of action. They asked Carmen and her two companions to go with them. The girls agreed readily, but Carmen was a little hesitant, arguing that it was because of love. Everyone immediately laughed at her, while trying hard to persuade her to go along. While this was going on, Don Hosse's pleasant song came from outside the door, and the men laughed derisively and walked away.
Don Horsey and Carmen embraced warmly. It turns out that he was locked up for two months because of Carmen's escape, and only just got free. Carmen was so touched that she didn't know how to repay him, so she picked up a pair of rattles and stood up on the big wooden table, singing and dancing.
(Score 9)
Don José admired her with great emotion, and could not resist kissing her dress.
But something interrupts his tenderness - the sound of a bugle urging the warriors to return to their barracks. Carmen would not let him go, and still sang and danced. Don José inexorably tells Carmen that he must go. Unhappy, Carmen picked up Donhosse's sword and military hat and threw them at him:
"What folly! I'm singing and dancing for love, and you're going back to some barracks!"
Donhosse explained to her, but she wouldn't listen. He took a long-wilted golden lily from his bosom and poured it out to Carmen with deep emotion:
(Score 10)
"This is the flower you threw at me, and I have treasured it all the way through the bars. Though it has withered and faded, it still retains its enchanting fragrance. No matter at what moment, as long as I close my eyes, the intoxicating fragrance of the flower penetrates into my heart. ...... I should have cursed you and scolded you and never missed you again, but my only wish is to see you again!"
The composer's aria for Don Hosse is just beautiful and moving, and it's nothing like the dance-rhythm, folk-tinged melodies that Carmen sings. You get a sense of Don Hosse's fiery and lingering love. Carmen was so moved that she asked Don José not to go back to the barracks and never to part with her. Why not go to the other side of the mountains and live a free life, she says. But Donhosse still wants to go back, he wants to be a good soldier, which is what his mother expects.
Carmen is really fired up and she screams, "I'll never love you again!"
Donhosse angrily picks up his sword and hat and heads out the door, only to be stopped by the door slamming open, and in comes the head guard, Zuniga. He saw that Don Hosse and Carmen were the only ones in the room, and could not help but become jealous. And at that moment someone else burst in, the two smugglers and a group of gypsies. They take the weapon out of Zú?iga's hand and ask him to "take a walk", but it turns out that they have taken him hostage.
The second act ends with a triumphant chorus from the smugglers and the gypsies.
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Act III
We see Carmen and Don José again, in the misty hills of night. Don Horsey didn't get out of it, and he's now a smuggler as well. He joins the group of gypsies as they careen down the rough mountain road. The leader, Don Keller, told the group to rest for a while, he would go ahead and scout the trail. So some people lit a campfire and sat around it to talk.
Donhosse was quiet and made Carmen so uncomfortable. She asks why this is, and Donhosse replies that it is because he is thinking of his mother, who lives not far from here. He feels that he has failed his mother and is really ashamed of himself.
Carmen is so sarcastic about this that she urges Don José to go back home to be with his mother and stop talking about love. Hearing this, Don Horsey was so angry that he took hold of Carmen's arm and said:
"We're breaking up? Listen, Carmen, if you say another word ......"
"What? You'll just kill me? Heck, everything is subject to fate!"
On the other side, the gypsy girls, Frascita and Mercedes, were telling fortunes to see what they would marry. Carmen comes over and sets up the cards as well. Oh dear, it's all unsettling signs - death! She doesn't want to believe it, so she does the math again. But it's death again! The composer gives us a hint with that theme from the overture that represents fate, and your heart can't help but tense up - just what is Carmen's fate?
When Keller returns to his resting place, he greets the men carrying the goods, while Don Hosse is instructed to stay on sentry duty.
The night was deep and quiet all around. Two figures appeared noiselessly on the trail, Mikaela and a guide. When the guide left, Mikaela sang an aria softly. The girl was soft and shy on the outside, but inside she was strong. She had come alone to the mountains to retrieve Don Hosse, and in this moving aria, she kept praying:
"Please give me courage, please protect me, God! I want to take back the one I love from that goblin!"
She saw Donhosse not far away and called his name that way. But strangely enough Donhosse was raising his gun and aiming it in one direction. Only a gunshot is heard, and she is so frightened that she ducks into the shadows.
A tall man approached, mumbling:
"Aim a little lower and I'm dead."
Donhosse also approached, nervously inquiring:
"What are you?"
Coming closer, they got a good look at each other; the taller man was Escamillo the bullfighter. When Don José wonders how he met him here, Escamillo tells Don José frankly that he is in love with a gypsy girl:
"I would rather lose my life to see my beauty."
Donhosse hastens to ask the girl's name.
"Carmen. She had a lover who was a soldier, and the fellow deserted for her. But their love was over, mind you, and Carmen's love never lasted more than six months light."
Don Hosse sang angrily:
"I was the deserter! My anger has finally found an outlet, and I hope the blood will soon flow!"
Escamillo finds it baffling:
"What folly, what a laugh, I come to find my mistress and I run into her man!"
The two drew their swords and began to duel. Just then Carmen and the friends came this way and drank them in. Persuaded by the crowd, Escamillo decided to leave, and he invited everyone to the city of Seville to see him in a bullfight in a few days. Before leaving, he confessed his love for Carmen once again.
A conflict is averted. But Don Hosse is in even more pain inside; he wants Carmen to warm up to him, but Carmen shrugs and walks away. Someone spots Mikayla in the shadows and pulls her out as soon as she can. The crowd is very surprised to realize that it is a woman. Facing the puzzled Don Hosse, Mikayla told:
"Over there is a hut where someone is praying without ceasing; it is a mother, weeping for her son. She stretches out her trembling hands and calls out your name. Hosse, go back with me, and set sail with me quickly."
Carmen, in a mocking tone, urged Don Hosse to hurry. But Don Horsey stubbornly refused to leave. He pushed aside a pleading Mikayla and declared loudly to Carmen:
"Don't you dare take advantage of this opportunity to go to a new lover. I love you, damned woman! You and I will never be apart, it's meant to be, and I will never leave, even if it means giving away my life!"
But Mikaela reveals the truth that shocks Donhosse: his mother is about to die. He was so shocked that he immediately decided to go home. He says to Carmen that he'll see her later and hurries off after Mikayla. The matador who had unsettled him was not far away, and he was singing that matador's song somewhere.
Carmen listened, leaning against the rock without moving.
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Act IV
This is outside the bullfighting ring in the city of Seville. There's always excitement on days when there's a fight: vendors are loudly hawking fans and oranges; someone is selling a program; and gaily dressed women walk into the bullring on the arms of men. It was almost a festival.
The chief guard, Zú?iga, who by now had become a friend of the gypsies and a protector of the smugglers, also came. He inquires about Carmen from the accompanying gypsy girls, Frascita and Mercedes, who tell him that Carmen is now in love with Escamillo, and madly so. And her former lover, Don José, won't stop. Zú?iga says there's no need to worry about Carmen; an order has been issued to arrest Don José, the deserter. They just haven't caught him yet. The march resounds brilliantly, and it's the same exciting melody that began the overture.
(Score 1)
Striding along amidst the cheers are a band of brave bullfighters and their assistants.
When Escamillo came out, the square was in an uproar: not only because of his fame, but because he was walking beside a bright and colorful girl, Carmen. She was so beautifully dressed, in a big, newly made red dress, and with a great crown of flowers on her head.
It was time for the bullfighters to enter the ring. Escamillo and Carmen kiss goodbye and disappear inside the gate. Mercedes walks quickly to Carmen and says that Don Hosse might be here too and to be more careful. Carmen is full of concern; Escamillo is the only one in her heart right now. She will wait here for news of his victory.
One by one, the people went into the bullring, and Carmen stayed alone in the square. Perhaps she wanted to see Don José one last time and end the relationship with him once and for all.
Don José really came. He was bearded and haggard, and his clothes were dirty and worn out, making him look miserable compared to Carmen, who was beautifully dressed.
The music here is quite wonderful: the contrast between the composer's orchestra's exuberant playing of the matador's march and the occasional insertion of ghastly chromatic descending phrases that hint at the tragedy that is to come is frightening.
Don José still has hope for Carmen, and he begs her to come with him. Carmen replied coldly:
"That's impossible. Carmen never lies. Between you and her, it's all over."
Don Hosse pleaded bitterly:
"Oh my Carmen, let me save you. By saving you, I save myself."
"Why do you still want this heart? It didn't belong to you a long time ago!"
"But I love you! I adore you!"
"This is all useless nonsense."
"Well, to please you, I'll go back to being a thief, and I'll do anything you like, as long as you don't leave me. Dear Carmen, think of all the years we have loved each other!"
"Don't you know that Carmen never bowed her head in submission to anyone. She was born free and will die free."
The people applauded from the bullring, and Carmen's eyes glowed as her heart flew to the bullfighters in the arena.
Don Hosse went berserk and stared at Carmen:
"You should be with me."
"Please leave me, Donhosse, I would never want to go with you."
"Must you go to him? Do you really love him?"
"Yes, I love him, I love him, and even in the face of death I will say this - I love him!"
There was another cheer, and Carmen pressed on, wanting to get into the ring to watch the fight. Donhosse pulled her back:
"You will never leave me! You must stay with me!"
"No, never! You will either let me die or set me free!"
It was in the midst of the enthusiastic cheering that the theme of tragedy grew stronger. Don Hosse roared:
"I ask one last thing: Devil, won't you come with me?"
"No!"
Carmen said, removing a ring from her finger and throwing it to the ground:
"Take it, you gave it to me once upon a time!"
Donhosse completely lost his mind as he drew a bright dagger from his arms and forced it at Carmen.
"Well, damn you!"
Just as the people cheered wildly in victory, he slammed the dagger into Carmen's chest.
The doors of the bullring opened. People poured out, stunned by the terrible scene.
Don José was heard shouting frantically:
"Arrest me, it was I, it was I, who killed dear Carmen! Oh, my adored Carmen!"
He threw himself on top of Carmen.