Photo courtesy Town Hall Theater
Carmen, middle, is a gypsy seductress who lives by her own rules.
Saturday, Feb. 2, 12:55 p.m.—RUTLAND, MIDDLEBURY— Live from the Metropolitan Opera, Bizet’s “Carmen” will be screened on Saturday, Feb. 2 at 12:55 p.m. at two locations: at the Paramount Theatre in Rutland and at Middlebury’s Town Hall Theater. Mezzo-soprano Clémentine Margaine reprises her remarkable portrayal of opera’s ultimate seductress, a triumph in her 2017 debut performances, with impassioned tenor Roberto Alagna as her lover, Don José.
Bizet’s masterpiece of the gypsy seductress who lives by her own rules has had an impact far beyond the opera house. The opera’s melodic sweep is as irresistible as the title character herself, a force of nature who has become a defining female cultural figure. “Carmen” was a scandal at its premiere, but soon after became a triumphal success and has remained one of the most frequently staged operas in the world.
The opera takes place in and around Seville, a city that, by the time “Carmen” was written, had already served many operatic composers as an exotic setting conducive to erotic intrigues and turmoil (Rossini’s “Il Barbiere di Siviglia” and Verdi’s “La Forza del Destino,” among others). As the hometown of Don Juan, the city also inspired Mozart with “Don Giovanni,” and Beethoven used Seville as the setting for a study of marital fidelity in “Fidelio.”
Run time is approximately 3 hours, 21 minutes. The Paramount Theatre is located at 30 Center St., Rutland. Tickets ($10, $23) are available at paramountvt.org.
The Town Hall Theater is located at 68 S. Pleasant St., Middlebury. Jim Pugh will give a pre-show talk in the Byers Studio at 12:15 p.m. Tickets ($10, $24) are available at townhalltheater.com.
