top of page
IGA_The_Undoing_Of_Carmen_26.JPG

UNDOING OF CARMEN
BETTY NANSEN TEATER 2024

Copenhagen Opera Festival

Opera lovers around the world will have seen Carmen being killed by her jealous ex-lover, Don José – a fate that Bizet’s famous character tragically shares with many women in 2024. Don't miss this much talked about performance opera when it returns to Copenhagen Opera Festival.

The murder of women is often part of opera's tragic love stories, including George Bizet's 'Carmen' from 1875. The tumultuous romance and wonderful music and singing downplay the morbidity—but in the real world, a woman is killed by her partner every 20 minutes.

'The Undoing of Carmen' challenges the romanticization of partner killing, directed by Anna Sofie Keller and interweaving new compositions with excerpts from Bizet's classic,

Intimate partner killings are not isolated tragedies but typically follow a pattern with eight predictable steps, as identified by criminologist Jane Monckton Smith. ‘The Undoing of Carmen’ uses the dramaturgy of this pattern to analyse Bizet's drama. We just might notice a familiar development from courting to controlling, from violence to murder. The three soloists take turns embodying the perpetrator, victim, and martyr, bringing to life a different and unsettling opera performance.

CAST

Director and concept: Anna Sofie Keller Brandsborg
Composer and concept: Kirstine Fogh-Vindelev and Georg Bizet
Stage- and costume designer : Pelle Staack
Soloists: Fanny Soyer (soprano), Claudia Ribas (mezzo-soprano), Stina Schmidt (mezzo-soprano) Pianist: Louise Schröder
Choreographer: Liva Lopez
Producert: Stina Schmidt
Knowledge consultant and expert in intimate partner violence and femicide: Katrine Amalie Keller

by: Neugeboren Opera Group

"Det bliver ikke det samme at opleve Bizets hits efter ’The Undoing of Carmen’."
Thomas Michaelsen 

Copehagen Opera Festival 2023

 
Operaelskere verden over har oplevet Carmen blive dræbt af sin jaloux ekskæreste Don José – en skæbne, som Bizets berømte karakter ulykkeligvis deler med mange kvinder i 2023. Gå ikke glip af denne originale performance-opera, som udfordrer ‘Carmen’s romantisering af partnerdrab. 
Drab på kvinder indgår ofte i operagenrens tragiske kærlighedshistorier, også i Georges Bizets ‘Carmen’ fra 1875. Den svulstige romantik og vidunderlige musik og sang nedtoner morbiditeten – men i den virkelige verden bliver en kvinde hvert 20. minut dræbt af sin partner.
 
Mænds drab på deres ekskærester er ikke enkeltstående tragedier, men følger typisk et mønster, som kriminologen Jane Monckton Smith har inddelt i otte forudsigelige trin. ‘The Undoing of Carmen’ bruger dramaturgien fra disse otte trin til at dissekere Bizets drama – måske ser vi en genkendelig udvikling fra stormkur til kontrol, vold og drab? De tre solister påtager sig skiftevis rollerne som gerningsperson, offer og martyr, og en anderledes og foruroligende operaoplevelse tager form.
 
‘The Undoing of Carmen’ er instrueret af Anna Sofie Keller Brandsborg og væver elskede uddrag fra den originale opera sammen med nykomponeret musik. Operaen er første del i en serie af værker, der undersøger operaklassikere med et kritisk blik.
bottom of page