Carmen, a blazing portrait of a woman who seeks love but sparks desire, jealousy, and obsession, remains one of the most celebrated operas ever composed.
Georges Bizet’s score, infused with Spanish rhythms and colors, overflows with passion and unforgettable melodies — from Carmen’s seductive “Habanera” to Escamillo’s triumphant “Toreador Song”.
Composed in 1875 with a libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on Prosper Mérimée’s novella, Carmen was Bizet’s final work before his untimely death just three months after its premiere at the Opéra-Comique in Paris.
Inspired by real and scandalous stories collected by Mérimée during his travels in Spain, Carmen tells the tale of Don José, a soldier who abandons everything for the love of Carmen, a free-spirited gypsy driven by passion and defiance. Their love turns into an obsession that leads inevitably to tragedy.
To mark the 150th anniversary of its premiere, La Fura dels Baus pays tribute to this timeless masterpiece with a new large-scale creation by Carlus Padrissa, blending opera, dance, and visual theatre. The production features the Municipal Symphonic Band of Madrid, under the baton of Jan Cober, with additional music by Marc Migó.
This ambitious reimagining brings Carmen to life through striking aerial structures, monumental scenic elements, and iconic imagery, transforming the Puente del Rey in Madrid into an open-air stage where passion, art, and spectacle converge.
A co-production by La Fura dels Baus and Veranos de la Villa, Carmen: 150 Years celebrates not only Bizet’s genius but the eternal flame of human emotion — love, freedom, and the fatal beauty of desire.
