Carmen
VMA Arts & Cultural Center
Friday, April 8, 2005 @ 7:30 PM
Saturday, April 9, 2005 @ 7:30 PM
Sunday, April 10, 2005 @ 2:30 PM
synopsis | ticket information | last season's photos | TV spot

Prologue
Micaela appears, her soul in a struggle as she remembers events of the recent past. The ballet unfolds as her memory retraces the tragic story.

Act I
The scene opens in early morning as the night guards finish their shift and the town’s inhabitants prepare for the work day.  Micaela appears, looking for her love, Don José, one of the guards. She finds him, and the two catch up with talk of love, and plan to meet later in the day.

At the noon-time work break, townsfolk tired from work and wilting under the hot sun converse. Carmen appears, bringing levity to the oppressive heat, jokes with the guards about the capricious nature of love, throwing a flower randomly at the foot of one of them before she and the other women must return to work in the cigar factory.  It is Don José who picks up the rose, acting like a child first discovering love.  Michaela joins him, as scheduled, but finds little response from him, and she suffers, realizing she is loosing his affection.  In the tobacco factory the heat and tedium of the work lead the women to tease their supervisor for her bossiness.  Mercedes, one of the factory workers, suggests they all get back to work before things get out of hand.  Carmen teases behind her back , causing laughter among the other women, and a fight breaks out between Carmen and Mercedes.  With her back to the wall, Carmen at last wins the battle by using a knife that is close at hand, slicing the face of Mercedes.  Hearing the resulting commotion, guards arrive to arrest Carmen.  Carmen manipulates Don José seductively to release her, promising to meet him later at a local hotel. Once she has fulfilled her promises in the hotel room, she is on her way.  Don José, now deeply in love with Carmen, decides to change his life so that he can be with her.


Intermission


Act II
Smugglers arrive in town, with Carmen obviously one of the leaders. They enter one of the town’s taverns to celebrate their recent success and good fortune.  Carmen shows no affection to Don José, who has joined the group just to be near her.  She begins to flirt with the Captain of the guards. As things get out of hand between Carmen and the Captain, Don José arrives, picks a fight with his former commander, and in a jealous rage kills him.  Don José is taken away by his new comrades, devastated by his own violent actions.  In the meantime a renowned bullfighter, Escamillo, arrives in town and comes into the tavern.  All women change their attention to him, including Carmen, who quickly forgets the evening’s earlier events.  Don José returns to the tavern to explain to Carmen his feelings, and sees her flirting with yet another.  Despite his physical, emotional and moral exhaustion, Don José gives in to rage, and picks a fight with Escamillo.  Carmen tries to stop the fight, but Don Jose is relentless, wanting Carmen only for himself.  Escamillo, fresher and more agile, easily subdues Don José.  Don José again finds a knife and threatens Escamillo, but the crowd convinces him to stop, and they leave the tavern to enjoy the night with Escamillo.  Don José is left alone, suffering and broken in his own inner struggle, and recalls his time spent with Micaela and Carmen.  The smugglers return to the tavern for more refreshments, and try to cheer him up.  In a nervous breakdown, he falls into a rage and runs out.

The next day there is escalating excitement for the bullfight featuring Escamillo.  As everyone leaves to attend the event, Don José appears and stops Carmen from joining the others. He explains to her his love and his desire that she be only his, for the rest of his life.  Annoyed, Carmen tries to leave, at last explaining in simple terms her need to be a free woman.  She already paid him what she felt was due, and wants nothing more with him.  Rejected with such finality, Don José cannot bear that she will not be with him, and kills her just as the crowd cheers Escamillo.
 

Epilogue
Micaela is left with her pain and tragic loss.

 

Tickets are priced as follows:
Five Dollar Off Fridays: Ticket prices are $11, $26, $36, $46, including $1.00 VMA theater restoration fee.
Saturday / Sunday: Ticket prices are $16, $31, $41, $51 including $1.00 VMA theater restoration fee.

Children 12 and under receive $5.00 off the above prices.
Seniors receive $5.00 of the above prices

To purchase tickets, please use any of the following
convenient options:
1. Contact tickets.com online or call them at 800-919-6272
2. Contact the VMA Arts & Cultural Center Box Office, 401.272.4VMA
Box Office hours are 10 am to 5 pm Thursday and Fridays, and daily the week of the performanc.
3. Contact Festival Ballet Providence, 825 Hope Street, Providence, RI or 401.353.1129. Hours, 9 am to 8:00 p, Monday through Friday, and 9 am to 2 pm on Saturdays

Click here for streaming video interview of Viktor Plotnikov, Leticia Guerrero and Marissa Gomer, talking about Carmen

The creation of Viktor Plotnikov’s Carmen was made possible in part by a generous donation from University Orthopedics

Composers: Georges Bizet, Isaac Albinez, Joaquin Rodrigo
Choreography: Viktor Plotnikov
Rehearsal Masters: Milica Bijelic, Mihailo Djuric
Lighting Design: Deborah Sullivan
Costume Design: Alan Pickart
Costume execution: Freda Bromberg, Mary Williams
Scenic Design: Alan Pickart
Assistant Scenic Design: Cameron Whitehorn
Sound Engineering: Wayne Johnson

Carmen
Jennifer Ricci (April 8)
Leticia Guerrero (April 9 & 10)

Don José
Davide Vittorino (April 8)
Gleb Lyamenkoff (April 9 & 10)

Michaela
Heather O’Halloran (April 8)
Karla Kovatch (April 9 & 10)

Escamillo
Eivar Martinez

Captain
Mark Harootian

Guards
Piotr Ostaltsov, Ty Parmenter, Andrew Skeels

Mercedes
Daniela Debrot

Factory Supervisor
Leticia Guerrero (April 8)
Jennifer Ricci (April 9 & 10)

Factory Women
Emily Bromberg, Erica Chipp, Carolyn Dellinger, Courtney Fraga, Elizabeth Jessee, Karla Kovatch, Caitlyn Novero, Heather O’Halloran, Anne-Sophie Rodriguez

Smugglers
Emily Bromberg, Erica Chipp,Carolyn Dellinger, Daniela Debrot, Elizabeth Jessee, Gleb Lyamenkoff, Caitlin Novero, Piotr Ostaltsov, Ty Parmenter,Andrew Skeels, Davide Vittorino

Fan Dance
Emily Bromberg, Erica Chipp, Carlyn Dellinger, Daniela Debrot, Courtney Fraga, Leticia Guerrero, Elizabeth Jessee, Karla Kovatch, Caitlin Novero, Heather O’Halloran, Jennifer Ricci, Anne-Sophie Rodriguez