Carmen returns to the Met January 9

Carmen returns to the Met January 9

• French mezzo-soprano Clémentine Margaine reprises her acclaimed portrayal of the title role, and French tenor Roberto Alagna returns to sing Don José

• French conductor Louis Langrée leads the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra

• Carmen will be transmitted live to movie theaters around the world on

Saturday, February 2 as part of The Met: Live in HD series

New York, NY (January 3, 2019)—The Metropolitan Opera presents one of the most beloved operas in the repertory,Georges Bizet’s Carmen,with performances January 9 to February 8, 2019. Starring in all performances in the title roleis Clémentine Margaine, who made her celebrated Met debut in this role in 2017.  Roberto Alagna sings the role of Carmen’s lover, Don José. Aleksandra Kurzak performs the role of Micaëla, and Alexander Vinogradov portrays the toreador Escamillo. Conductor Louis Langrée leads the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in interpreting Bizet’s famous score.

At the performance on January 17,Susanna Phillips is Micaëla and Michael Todd Simpson is Escamillo.

Carmen Worldwide Broadcasts in Cinema and Radio

The February 2 performance of Sir Richard Eyre’s renowned production will be transmitted live to more than 2,200 movie theaters in more than 70 countries as part of the Met’s Live in HD series. The transmission will be hosted by soprano Ailyn Pérez.

The January 17 and February 2 performances of Carmen will be broadcast live on Metropolitan Opera Radio on SiriusXM Channel 75.

Carmen Artist Biographies

French mezzo-soprano Clémentine Margaine reprises her portrayal of Carmen, the role in which she made her Met debut in 2017 and has also sung with Deutsche Oper Berlin, Bavarian State Opera, Paris Opera, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Opera Australia, Washington National Opera, and Canadian Opera Company. Other notable roles include Amneris in Verdi’s Aida at Opera Australia,Sara in Donizetti’s Roberto Devereux at Bavarian State Opera,Marguerite in Berlioz’s La Damnation de Faust at Deutsche Oper Berlin, Dulcinée in Massenet’s Don Quichotte at Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Charlotte in Werther at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. Also this season, she will reprise the title role in Carmen at Vienna State Opera and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, as well as sing Dulcinée at Deutsche Oper Berlin.

Polish soprano Aleksandra Kurzak adds a new role to her Met repertory as Micaëla, a role she has previously sung at Paris Opera. She made her Met debut in 2004 as Olympia in Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann and has also sung Nedda in Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci, Blondchen in Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Gilda in Verdi’s Rigoletto,and Gretel in Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel with the company.

American soprano Susanna Phillips, who has sung more than 100 Met performances, returns in the role of Micaëla. She made her company debut as Musetta in Puccini’s La Bohème in 2008, a role she has sung more than 50 times at the Met. A recipient of the Met’s Beverly Sills Award, her other roles with the company include Clémence in the Met premiere of Kaija Saariaho’s L’Amour de Loin, Rosalinde in Strauss’s Die Fledermaus, Stella and Antonia in Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann,Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte,and Pamina in Mozart’s The Magic Flute. Also this season at the Met, she sings Donna Elvira in Mozart’s Don Giovanni.

French tenor Roberto Alagna first sang Don José at the Met in 2000. He made his Met debut as Rodolfo in Puccini’s La Bohème in 1996, and his many other roles with the company include his role debut as des Grieux in a new production of Puccini’s Manon Lescaut,the title role in Alfano’s Cyrano de Bergerac,Cavaradossi in Puccini’s Tosca, Radamès in Verdi’s Aida,and Turiddu and Canio in the double bill of Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci.Earlier this season, he was seen as Samson in a new production of Saint-Saëns’s Samson et Dalila,which was part of the Met’s Live in HD series.

Russian bass Alexander Vinogradov makes his Met role debut as Escamillo, a role he has performed at La Scala, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, and Opernhaus Zürich. He made his Met debut in the 2017–18 season as Walter in Verdi’s Luisa Miller, followed by performances as Raimondo in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor. Other performances this season include Philip II in Verdi’s Don Carlo at LA Opera, Escamillo at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and Hamburg State Opera, and Raimondo in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor at Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia in Valencia.

American baritone Michael Todd Simpson reprises the role of Escamillo. Hemade his Met debut in 2009 as Hermann and Schlémil in Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann. His other roles with the company include Lescaut in Massenet’s Manon,Marcello in La Bohème, Carbon in Alfano’s Cyrano de Bergerac, Demetrius in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Moralès in Carmen,a Flemish Deputy in Verdi’s Don Carlo,and Streshnev in Khovanshchina. He appeared at the Met earlier this season as Sonora in Puccini’s La Fancuilla del West, which was part of the Met’s Live in HD series.

French conductorLouis Langrée made his Met debut in 2007, leading the new production premiere of Gluck’s Iphigénie en Tauride. His subsequent company performances include the 2010 new production premiere of Thomas’s Hamlet and revivals of La Bohème, Don Giovanni, Dialogues des Carmélites,and Carmen. He has conducted at opera houses around the world, including the Bavarian State Opera, La Scala, Dresden State Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. He was the music director at Opéra National de Lyon from 1998 to 2000 and of the Glyndebourne Touring Opera from 1998 to 2003. He is currently the music director of the Mostly Mozart Festival and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.

For More Information

For further details on Carmen, including casting by date, please click here

Carmen

Music by Georges Bizet

Libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella by Prosper Mérimée

Wednesday, January 9 at 8:00 p.m.

Saturday, January 12 at 8:30 p.m.

Thursday, January 17 at 7:30 p.m.

Monday, January 21 at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, January 26 at 1:00 p.m.

Tuesday, January 29 at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, February 2 at 1:00 p.m.

Tuesday, February 5 at 7:30 p.m.

Friday, February 8 at 7:30 p.m.

Production a gift of Mrs. Paul Desmarais Sr.

For prices and ticket information, please call (212) 362-6000 or visit metopera.org.

Special rates for groups of 10 or more are available by calling (212) 341-5410 or visiting metopera.org/groups.