Opera on the Big Screen

Editorial Review

In a free event, Bizet's most popular opera, Carmen, broadcasts live across Australia on 12 March.

Event Details

Event Type:

Opera/Operetta

Editorial Review

7.30pm 12 March '08
Following the success of La Traviata's relay to Federation Square in Melbourne and the Sydney Opera House in March ’07, eight regional cinemas across Australia will receive a live transmission of Opera Australia's Carmen on Wednesday 12 March. At 7.30pm the seductive streets of Seville will be transmitted via satellite to cinemas in Albany, Devonport, Hervey Bay, Yarram, Katherine, Port Augusta, Wagga Wagga and Singleton. There will also be a live site outside the Opera House in Sydney and at Federation Square in Melbourne.

Bizet's masterpiece kicks off Opera Australia's season for 2008, with music director Richard Hickox and director Francesca Zambello teaming up with Kirsten Chavez as the tragic heroine.

Zambello's vision is to create as real a world as possible; for the audience to feel the sweat of 19th century Spain on their skin. "I wanted to capture the heat combined with the cold of the mountains", she explains, "the sense of elements - fire, water, wind, rain. I wanted to do a realistic Carmen".

The tale follows the soldier Don Jose, played by Rosario La Spina, whose meeting with the mysterious gypsy Carmen beguiles him into a fateful world of bullfighting, smuggling and wild dancing. He finds a rival in the matador Escamillo (Michael Todd Simpson, later played by Joshua Bloom), as they both vie for Carmen's heart.

Although initially criticised for its salacious storyline when it debuted in 1875, Carmen has since become an integral addition to the opera canon, in no small part due to Bizet's striking music. Arias including The Toreador's Song and the smouldering Habanera have ensured that Carmen seduces and haunts all who fall under her spell.

Opera on the Big Screen is a free, ticketed event at regional centres and at the Opera House Forecourt. For Sydney tickets go to the Opera House website and for information about regional tickets go to the Australian Film Commission website. No tickets are required for the Melbourne event; for more details go to the Federation Square website.

Kilian David and Judith Hatton