March 1, 2022
Chris Cox, Director of Marketing and Communications
412-281-0912 ext. 217
Contact via email
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Pittsburgh Opera presents the irresistible Carmen, March 26 – April 3 at the Benedum Center
Photo by Cory Weaver
Pittsburgh Opera was in the middle of rehearsals for its planned March 2020 performances of Carmen when the COVID pandemic struck, forcing it to cancel. Now two years later Carmen will be making its long-awaited return to the Benedum Center.
Set in 1830 Seville, Spain, Carmen is a roller-coaster of lust, deception, and murder. Fiery Carmen, who lives her life to the fullest, can have any man she wants. But when she seduces naïve Corporal Don José, she gets more than she bargains for.
Carmen works in a cigarette factory. When a knife fight with another employee leads to her arrest, she charms Corporal Don José into letting her escape. Like a moth drawn to a flame, Don José forsakes his military career and the innocent peasant girl Micaëla for a life on the lam with Carmen and a band of smugglers.
Never one to settle down, the passionate Carmen gets bored with Don José and becomes involved with the glamourous, testosterone-filled bullfighter Escamillo. Left with nothing, Don José decides that if he can’t have Carmen, no one can.
Full of magnetic melodies, colorful costumes, and tragic twists, you’ll fall in love with Georges Bizet’s one-and-only Carmen.
The opera is sung in French with English supertitles projected above the stage.
PERFORMANCE LOCATION/DATES/TIMES/LENGTH/LANGUAGE
All performances take place at the Benedum Center in downtown Pittsburgh:
- Sat., March 26, 2022 * 8:00 PM
- Tues., March 29, 2022 * 7:00 PM
- Fri., April 1, 2022 * 7:30 PM
- Sun., April 3, 2022 * 2:00 PM
Run Time is approximately 2 hours and 50 minutes with two intermissions
Language: Sung in French with English supertitles projected above the stage
FUN FACTS
- As NPR says, “Carmen may have more hit tunes than any opera ever composed. People who say they've never listened to a note of opera in their lives have probably heard something from Carmen.”
- Carmen features two of the best-known of all operatic arias - the celebrated “Habanera” from Act 1 and the “Toreador Song” from Act 2.
- Seattle Opera compiled a list of some of the many movies, TV shows, and TV commercials with music from Carmen. In one Sesame Street segment, Denyce Graves (who sang the role of Grace in Pittsburgh Opera’s world premiere of The Summer King – the Josh Gibson Story) sings Elmo a bedtime lullaby to the tune of the Habanera.
- Carmen is one of the most popular operas in the standard repertoire, but Bizet did not live long enough to see it gain acceptance. Sadly, Bizet died just three months after Carmen had its world premiere at the Opéra-Comique in Paris on March 3, 1875. Johannes Brahms saw the opera 20 times and said that he would have "gone to the ends of the earth to embrace Bizet."
SYNOPSIS
See Carmen's webpage for a full overview of the opera.
CAST AND ARTISTIC TEAM
See Carmen's webpage for a full overview list of the cast and artistic team.
MEDIA EVENTS
Please contact Chris Cox for reservations
- Photo Call (Mon., March 14, 12:30 PM) - location TBA
- Full Dress Rehearsal (Thurs., March 24, 7:00 PM) - Benedum Center
COVID PROTOCOLS
Per the AWAACC's COVID protocols, proof of vaccination is required for all patrons including children. No exceptions to the vaccine requirement will be allowed.
Masks are mandatory, and “the only approved masks are N95 & kN95 masks. Individuals who cannot wear a mask are asked not to visit at this time."
See the AWAACC's COVID protocols webpage for full details.
TICKETS AND GROUP DISCOUNTS
Single tickets for adults start at $15; tickets for kids and teens ages 6–18 are half-price. Call 412-456-6666 or visit pittsburghopera.org/tickets.
Group discounts, including student discounts, are available. For more information about group ticket services and discounts for groups of six or more people, contact Wendy Parkulo at 412-281-0912, ext. 213 or via email.
Pittsburgh Opera has a no-hassle refund policy for all 2021–22 operas so patrons can purchase their tickets with confidence. Whether a patron has contracted COVID, is waiting for a COVID test result, has been identified as a close contact of someone who has tested positive, or simply has a symptom that could be COVID, etc., Pittsburgh Opera will offer full refunds for any patrons who notify us that they need to cancel their tickets at least one hour prior to their performance start time.
SPONSORS
- PNC is the 2021—22 Pittsburgh Opera Season Sponsor.
- Ambridge Regional Distribution and Manufacturing Center is the Tuesday Performance Sponsor.
- WQED-FM is Pittsburgh Opera’s Media Sponsor.
