''Carmen'' is a

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

created by

Roland Petit Roland Petit (13 January 192410 July 2011) was a French ballet company director, choreographer and dancer. He trained at the Paris Opera Ballet school, and became well known for his creative ballets. Life and work The son of shoe designer Ros ...

and his company 'Les Ballets de Paris' at the

Prince's Theatre The Shaftesbury Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, in the London Borough of Camden. Opened in 1911 as the New Prince's Theatre, it was the last theatre to be built in Shaftesbury Avenue. History The theatre was d ...

in London on 21 February 1949, which has entered the repertory of ballet companies in France and around the world.Carmen at the Roland Petit website
Accessed 7 June 2012 This version is in five scenes and represents a striking admixture of

classical ballet Classical ballet is any of the traditional, formal styles of ballet that exclusively employ classical ballet technique. It is known for its aesthetics and rigorous technique (such as pointe work, turnout of the legs, and high extensions), its ...

, Spanish-style movement, mime, and freshly invented dramatic dance action. It opened "scandalously and brilliantly, with the fabulously sexy

Zizi Jeanmaire Renée Marcelle "Zizi" Jeanmaire (29 April 192417 July 2020) was a French ballet dancer, actress and singer. She became famous in the 1950s after playing the title role in the ballet ''Carmen'', produced in London in 1949, and went on to appear ...

in the title role" in London and has been regularly performed ever since. The original designs and costumes were by

Antoni Clavé Antoni Clavé (5 April 1913 – 1 September 2005) was a Catalan master painter, printmaker, sculptor, stage designer and costume designer. He was nominated for two Academy Awards ( Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design) for his work on ...

. The music is taken from the 1875 opera of the same name by

Georges Bizet Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', whi ...

, arranged and orchestrated by Tommy Desserre. The scenario is based on the 1845

novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian ''novella'' meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) facts ...

Prosper Mérimée Prosper Mérimée (; 28 September 1803 – 23 September 1870) was a French writer in the movement of Romanticism, and one of the pioneers of the novella, a short novel or long short story. He was also a noted archaeologist and historian, and a ...

. The principal roles were created for Petit's wife-to-be Zizi Jeanmaire (Carmen),

(Don José) and Serge Perrault (Le Toréador). Over 5,000 performances of the work were given around the world over its first 50 years, and is considered to be the most frequently performed of ballets based on Bizet's opera. Larner, Gerald. Carmen's Children. ''

Opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

'', July 2002, Vol.53 No.7, p806.

Original cast

, Carmen *

, Don José * Serge Perrault, Le Toréador * Belinda Wright, Woman Bandit * Nina Bibikova, Cigarette Girl *

Ursula Kubler Ursula may refer to: * Ursula (name), feminine name and a list of people and fictional characters with the name * ''Ursula'' (album), an album by American jazz pianist Mal Waldron *Ursula (crater), a crater on Titania, a moon of Uranus *Ursula (det ...

, Cigarette Girl * Mireille Lefebvre, Cigarette Girl * Stanley Hall, Bandit * Gordon Hamilton, Chief Bandit * Gabriel Houbard, Bandit * Gregor Mondjian, Bandit * Joy Williams, Cigarette Girl

Synopsis

The first scene is set in a street in

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

(Sevilla), Spain, where the dancing of a crowd is interrupted by a girl being chased by Carmen. Their fight is only stopped by the arrival of Don José, who assists Carmen's defeated opponent. As he is about to arrest Carmen he is struck by her allure and arranges an assignation for later. That evening in the tavern Don José enters and dances a zapateado to the music of the habanera. Carmen next appears and dances, ending at Don José's feet; he lifts her up and they go up to the bedroom. The customers dance and when Carmen and Don José return they join in before José wraps Carmen in his cape and they go off. The third scene is in Carmen's bedroom. After a passionate duet, three of Carmen's friends come in and invite her to go outside. At night in the street, Carmen, Don José and the friends prepare to rob a passer-by. Using a dagger Carmen has given him, Don José stabs a man, and after the women have taken his purse, they all flee. The final scene is set outside the bull-ring where girls await the arrival of their hero, the toreador. He enters and greets them but is fascinated by the indifference shown by Carmen. José enters and notices their looks. The toreador moves into the arena whereupon Don José threatens Carmen, and in a fight to the death he overcomes her. As she dies, hats are tossed from the bull-ring to land at his feet.Synopsis adapted from: Brinson, Peter & Crisp, Clement. ''Ballet for all.''

Pan Books Pan Books is a publishing imprint that first became active in the 1940s and is now part of the British-based Macmillan Publishers, owned by the Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group of Germany. Pan Books began as an independent publisher, est ...

, London, 1970, p266-268.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carmen Ballets by Roland Petit Ballets to the music of Georges Bizet 1949 ballet premieres Works based on Carmen (novella) Ballets based on literature