How to Order | Buy a Multi Pack | Subscribe | Shop Merchandise
A group of guards is stationed in their headquarters across from Seville’s cigarette factory, and among them is corporal Don José.
Carmen, a gypsy girl, approaches to sell cigarettes. She taunts the men, warning them to beware her charm. Don José initially ignores Carmen but is eventually unable to resist his attraction to her. She leaves, throwing a flower at him as she returns to the factory.
Micaëla, a young country girl, enters to deliver a letter to Don José from his mother which advises him to marry Micaëla. He chooses to oblige his mother despite his newfound obsession for Carmen.
Suddenly, a fight breaks out in the factory between Carmen and another cigarière, and Don José is sent to arrest her. Carmen promises him that if he releases her, she will be his lover. He cannot resist, and allows her to escape.
The gypsy girls are dancing in a tavern. Don José has been imprisoned for two months for allowing Carmen to escape. Zuniga, another guard, enters to announce that the corporal has been released.
A parade outside is celebrating the victories of the bull fighter, Escamillo. As the crowd disperses, the other gypsies urge Carmen to join them in the mountains. She refuses, wishing to wait for Don José.
Don José enters, and after reuniting, Carmen begs him to abandon his call back to service and accompany her into the mountains. Don José is torn between his loyalty and his love.
Zuniga enters in search of Carmen, and in a jealous act of insubordination, Don José attacks him. Having no choice, he realizes he must now join the gypsies.
The gypsy smugglers are working in the mountains. Don José laments what he has left behind, which leads to a quarrel with Carmen. The girls begin to tell fortunes for each other, but all that reads in the cards for Carmen is death, which creates a somber mood. The smugglers leave the camp, leaving Don José behind to guard. Micaëla enters, searching for the corporal, and at a distance she sees him fight with Escamillo who has arrived to find Carmen. Hearing a gunshot, the smugglers return to defuse the situation. Micaëla pleads with Don José to return to her and his mother. Carmen encourages him to go, and upon hearing that his mother is dying, he agrees.
On the day of Escamillo’s great bullfight, Carmen accompanies the toreador in the parade to the arena. They swear their love for each other before separating.
Don José appears outside the arena and begs Carmen to come back to him. She refuses, telling him that she no longer loves him and is bound to Escamillo.
In a jealous rage, Don José charges Carmen, stabbing her with a dagger. She dies as the crowd inside the arena cheers the victorious toreador.
From top: Rinat Shaham as Carmen and Alain Coulombe as Zuniga in the Canadian Opera Company’s production of Carmen. Photo: Michael Cooper © 2010; Larissa Kostiuk; Atilla B. Kiss and Larissa Kostiuk; photos: Michael Cooper © 2005
Production Co-Sponsors
Make a night of your visit to the opera.
How to find the Four Seasons Centre.