Annalisa Stroppa returns to the role of Carmen, for which she is widely regarded as one of today’s leading interpreters, in Bizet’s masterpiece of the same name, which brings the opera season at the Teatro Comunale di Modena to a close on 10 and 12 April. The production is a co-production with the theatres of Piacenza and Ravenna, where it will be performed on 17 and 19 April, and on 24 and 26 April respectively. This new staging, created in collaboration with the OperaLombardia circuit, is conducted by Audrey Saint-Gil and directed by Stefano Vizioli.

“Whenever I’m about to interpret the role of Carmen, as well as diving with heart and mind into the new production and preparing for Bizet’s sublime, sophisticated music, I find myself wondering why this character is so fascinating, said Stroppa, who is much anticipated in this production. “This gypsy cigar maker, who seduces unrestrainedly, chasing every erotic whim with no concern for the price she will pay for this choice of freedom, unperturbed by living in illegality, was (and is) such a powerful figure; not a positive one but a perfect symbol of nonconformity. The modernity evoked by Carmen lies, above all, in her longing for freedom and shows us that history, full of destinies like hers, always has and, unfortunately, always will repeat itself. This is the reason for Carmen’s magnetism: first Mérimée, then Meilhac, Halévy and Bizet with his profoundly compelling music, bestow on her the right to self-determination and a fierce awareness of her sexual supremacy, making her a tragic heroine and, as a consequence, always in line with the times.
I can’t wait to take on the leading role in this Carmen, which promises to be impressive, conducted by an exceptional conductor, Audrey Saint-Gil, with Stefano Vizioli’s visionary stage direction. The context is all the more exciting because we’ll be taking this new production to audiences in Modena, Piacenza and Ravenna over a period of three weeks”.

(photo © Rolando Paolo Guerzoni)