Carmen by Georges Bizet is one of the most famous opera tragedies. In a dramaturgical intervention by Peter Brook, the storyline becomes more dense, intense, and outlined. With the omission of some original characters and lacking the emphasis on the vivid scenery of the original story, the “new” Carmen relies on exploring relations between characters and underlines the problem of the suffering of a Roma woman.
A local pre-performance of opera Carmen, one tragedy in production of Rossi fest additionally contemporized the adaptation of Bizet’s Carmen, focusing on the problem of social adaptation of Roma and migrants in the systems of European countries, facing all kinds of discriminations during the migrant crisis from 2015-2019. Freedom that Carmen, the first Roma heroine in opera, sings about is the same freedom sought by socially vulnerable groups – freedom of movement, right to work, and finally a right to free love. It is precisely the emphasis on the passionate affair between Carmen and Don Jose from the sociological aspect that enables the play directed by Ana Grigorovic and conducted by Stefan Zekic, to problematize relations between state, police, and minorities – Roma and migrants.
How much is a woman’s life worth and is it worth at all? How big is the responsibility of the state if the life of an individual is endangered? Carmen, one tragedy is not just a story of great love and tragedy, but also a social commentary asking questions and calling for responsibility.
Scenic movement is designed by Tamara Pjević, scenography by Dunja Kostić, and costumes by Ivana Ivić. A young and talented group of singers and actors is led by Nataša Rašić as Carmen, together with Marko Živković (Don Jose), Vuk Zekić (Escamillo), Evgenija Jeremić (Micaela), Pavle Žarkov (Zuniga), Nemanja Stamatović (Lillas Pastia) and Đorđe Živadinović Grgur (Garcia).
Director – Ana Grigorović
Conductor – Stefan Zekić
Set design – Dunja Kostić
Costume – Ivana Ivić
Stage movement – Tamara Pjević
Video – Matija Novaković
Lighting design – Vlada Marinkovski
Carmen – Natasa Rasic
Don Jose – Marko Zivkovic
Escamillo – Vuk Zekic
Mikaela – Evgenija Jeremic
Zuniga – Pavle Zharkov
Lillas Pastia – Nemanja Stamatovic
Garcia – Djordje Zivadinovic Grgur
Orchestra:
Vesna Jansens, concert master
Aleksandra Dimitrijević, violin
Mirko Crnojevic, viola
Jasmina Vrbanić, cello
Svetozar Vujic, double bass
Srdjan Jarakovic, piano
Ana Popović, flute
Marija Lazić, oboe
Mihailo Samoran, clarinet
Ana Djordjevic, bassoon
Igor Lazić, horn
Nenad Ninković, trumpet
Ivan Jovanovic, trombone
Aleksandar Radulović, percussion
