pera & Ballet International proudly presents an Ellen Kent production with international soloists, highly praised chorus and full orchestra
BIZET CARMEN
Seville comes to the Grand Opera House York with the hottest ticket in town!
Tuesday 24 November 2015
Featuring Caspian – a majestic white Andalucian stallion and a rescue donkey
AWARD-WINNING opera producer Ellen Kent returns after critically acclaimed tours of Madama Butterfly, Traviata and Rigoletto, bringing the heat and passion of Spain in this magnificent production of Carmen. It is inspired by Ellen Kent’s years in Andalucia as a teenager.
With a brand new set which reflects the stunning architecture of Seville and its main square with Roman and Moorish influences.
A spectacular dance sequence by Caspian the stallion, ridden by Joe Butcher from AB Films.*
Carmen includes the special guest star a donkey*. Ellen’s mother ran the Spanish equivalent of the RSPCA which saved the lives of many donkeys and to continue this good work Ellen has included a donkey* from various sanctuaries to help them raise money.
Carmen is the story of the bewitching gypsy girl whose tantalising beauty lures a soldier to desertion and leads to her own murder. The opera includes some of the most evocative and best-loved melodies in opera –The Habanera, The Seguidilla, The Flower Song, The Chanson Bohème and perhaps the best-known baritone aria of all The Toreador’s Song.
Ellen has performed many exciting productions of Carmen in her 24 years of being an opera producer, from an outdoor performance in the beautiful grounds of Leeds Castle in Kent, two sell-out performances played to thousands of people and which caused major traffic jams on M20, to the visit to the Middle East in 2004 where she entertained the Emir of Qatar and 3,500 Royal guests for the first ever performance of Carmen to be performed in the Gulf, screened live on Al Jazeera Television.
Introducing Liza Kadelnik the celebrated international mezzo-soprano from the Romanian National Opera, together with the stunning international Bulgarian mezzo-soprano Nadezhda Stoianova as Carmen.
Nadezhda Stoianova who will be returning after her critically acclaimed performances of Carmen in 2013 and Aida in 2014 to sing Carmen. Maria Tonina and Alyona Kistenyova will be singing Michaela. Maria Tonina returns after her spectacular success in Traviata and Rigoletto. In 2005 she was chosen for scholarship by the CEE Musiktheater, Vienna, Austria, sponsored by Deutsche Bank Stiftung together with the Austrian State Secretariat for the Arts and Media. Alyona Kistenyova returns after her debut as Madama Butterfly in 2015 gaining rapturous reviews.Escamillo will be played by Iurie Gisca. Iurie returns after playing to excellent reviews Escamillo in 2013 and Nabucco and Amonasro in Ellen Kent productions of Carmen, Aida and Nabucco.
“A star was born” (Nadezhda Stoianova) Manchester Evening News, Carmen
“Impassioned and sultry” Fiona Maddocks (The Observer)
“Hot-blooded, a joy” The Independent
“A Spanish treat for opera lovers” Bristol Evening Post
“It is a stunning show, worth five stars all the way through” Brighton Argus
“Sexy Carmen is a feast for the eyes and ears” Edinburgh Evening News
Sung in French with English subtitles