On April 27 and 28, in the Krasnoyarsk Opera and Ballet Theatre named after D.A.Hvorostovsky the ballet opera “Carmen” based upon the music of Bizet is staged again by Honoured Artist of Russia Sergei Bobrov. The choreographic and vocal incarnation of the story of the indomitable gitana is combined within one performance for the first time in the history of the "Carmen” stagings.

“Carmen” is one of the most popular theatrical performances, it fascinates the viewer not only with delightful music, but also with the story of a strong and independent woman. Today it’s difficult to believe, but the first performance of the great Bizet’s opera, held in 1875 in Paris, failed miserably, and the composer was unable to survive the fiasco and died three months later. But in a few years the performances were resumed and the opera became one of the most popular in the whole world.

The peculiarity of the Krasnoyarsk performance is that the characters of Carmen and Micaela, José and Escamillo will be performed both by opera and ballet artists. The characters will not only dance the story of love, beauty and passion, but also sing about it. The performance will feature the most brilliant opera scenes, and in the choreographic score the elements of classical and modern dance will be organically intertwined.

The artistic concept of the staging belongs to the Moscow theatre artist Anna Nezhnaya. The stage is decorated in the style of old posters that were used in the times Georges Bizet lived. In the centre of the stage, there is a panorama of the bullfighting arena filled with the characters of the late Goya graphics. Another interesting artist’s catch is a giant fan of thirteen by eleven meters in size, which will be opened and closed depending on the action taking place on the stage.

The opera arias will be performed by: Darya Ryabinko (Carmen), Svetlana Ratslaf-Levchuk (Micaela), Mikhail Pirogov from the Buryat Opera and Ballet Theatre (José), Andrei Silenko (Escamillo).

The ballet parts will be performed by: Honoured Artist of Russia Maria Litvinenko-Kuimova and Olesya Aldonina (Carmen), Georgy Bolsunovsky and Ivan Karnaukhov (José), Anna Fedosova (Micaela), Kirill Litvinenko (Escamillo), Anastasia Osokina and Nadezhda Panfilova (Mercedes), Denis Pogoreliy and Kirill Bulyichev (Dancaïre).

Honoured Artist of Russia Anatoliy Chepurnoy is at the conductor’s desk.