For its 15th edition
Les Étés de la Danse
comes back with passion
come and see
CARMEN
choregraphed by Johan Inger
danced by the Compañía Ncional de Danza de España
directed by José Martínez
from July 8 to 17
at Théâtre Mogador
Who better than the Compañía Nacional de Danza de España to interpret Carmen's passionate and fiery temperament?
Especially when its artistic director, José Martínez, entrusts the choreography to a man from the North, Johan Inger!
Revisiting the myth without ever betraying it, the Swedish choreographer skilfully moves the original setting of the novel - the tobacco factory, the outskirts of Seville and the Ronda mountains - into a more urban universe and a blurred temporality.
Mirrors that multiply silhouettes to infinity, a luminous spectrum between colors and black shadows: the combination of warm and cold gives a new breath to this ballet which doubles its energy and its lust.
More than ever Carmen is a free, courageous and contemporary heroine.
Johan Inger created a new version of Carmen, without limiting himself to the romanticism of the story.
The romantic image of excessive love, uncontrolled jealousy and the anguish of abandonment is crystallized in the fear of a child's gaze, witness of the story and companion of the spectator.
Johan Inger's Carmen is not based on an aesthetic of flamenco or Spanish folklore but on those of an urban 20th century. The spaces, defined by structures of a grey and black tone, plunge us into a subtle atmosphere that reminds us of the 1960s.
Almost two centuries after the publication of Mérimée's novel, Carmen is no longer at the hands of its creator. By flirting with cinema, opera, dance and even painting, it has become a symbol, a transcendence, the perfect vehicle that creators use to talk about Freedom.
choreography Johan Inger
choreography assistant Urtzi Aranburu
music Rodion Shchedrin
and Georges Bizet
additional original music Marc Alvarez
original publisher of the musical work Carmen Suite
Bizet-Shchedrin Musikverlag, Hans Sikorski, Hamburg
costumes David Delfín
dramaturgy Gregor Acuña-Pohl
scenography Curt Allen Wilmer (AAPEE)
lighting design Tom Visser
World premiere by the
Compañía Nacional de Danza de España on April 9, 2015
at the Teatro de la Zarzuela, Madrid (Spain)
Johan Inger received the Benois Dance Award 2016
for his choreography Carmen,
created for the CND
copyright © Carlos Quezada