CARMEN Comes to the Greek National Opera Ballet in February

The Greek National Opera Ballet presents a new production of the ballet Carmen, choreographed by the great Swedish choreographer Johan Inger and first presented by the Compañía Nacional de Danza, Madrid in 2015. Performances run 7 - 25 February 2024.

Acclaimed dancer and choreographer Johan Inger –who has carved himself a long and exceptionally successful career, both at Nederlands Dans Theater and at other major European dance companies– created the ballet Carmen for the Compañía Nacional de Danza, where it proved highly popular. Inger took on the challenge and the opportunity of creating a new choreography for Bizet’s heroine –considered a symbol of love and freedom– and his prime concern was to offer up a new take on this famous story. To this end, he decided to focus on the issue of violence, approaching it through the eyes of a child. From this viewpoint, Inger invites audiences to watch the action through a filter of innocence.

The choreographer notes: “My Carmen is not only based on the female protagonist of the story; like Mérimée’s original, my ballet also focuses on Don José’s love sickness – on a man who, unable to accept the freedom of his beloved, sets forth on a path down to hell, driven by his primal instincts: passion and revenge. There is an element of mystery in this character: it could be a child, it could be Don José. It could even be us, with our primeval goodness lacerated by the experience of violence which, though short-lived, may have negatively influenced our lives and our ability to relate to others forever.”

In this choreography by Inger, the ballet version of the Carmen story by Rodion Shchedrin – Georges Bizet enters into dialogue with music written by Marc Álvarez. The production also features dramaturgy by Gregor Acuña-Pohl, sets by Curt Allen Wilmer and Leticia Gañán, costumes by David Delfín, and lighting by Tom Visser.

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