Mirna Lacambra can rest easy, because those currently in charge of her successor at the Catalan Opera Foundation assure her of a promising future. This new production of Carmen which closes the season and has been excellent in every sense. Starting with the stage show, by Rita Cosentino, which neither strays from clichés nor breaks the mold, setting Bizet's tragedy in 1940s Spain. And with the image of Don José's execution in the opera's prelude, evoking Mérimée's novel that inspired the score. All of this is framed within an efficiently functional stage space, designed by Jordi Galobart, as a hemicycle. Something resonates in Calixto Bieito's magnificent staging, without falling into sterile plagiarism. The narrative realism (reinforced by Gabriela Hilario's costumes) is counterpointed by a resolute choreography by Aarón Martín, which also avoids the commonplaces associated with this masterpiece of French opera.

Mirna Lacambra can rest easy, because those currently in charge of her successor at the Catalan Opera Foundation assure her of a promising future. This new production of Carmen which closes the season and has been excellent in every sense. Starting with the stage show by Rita Cosentino, which neither strays from clichés nor breaks the mold, setting Bizet's tragedy in 1940s Spain. And with the image of Don José's execution in the opera's prelude, evoking Mérimée's novel that inspired the score. All of this is framed within an efficiently functional stage space designed by Jordi Galobart, reminiscent of a hemicycle. Something resonates in Calixto Bieito's magnificent staging, without falling into sterile plagiarism. The narrative realism (reinforced by Gabriela Hilario's costumes) is counterpointed by Aarón Martín's resolute choreography, which also eschews the commonplaces associated with this masterpiece of French opera.