Carmen
Location 400 Cedar Ave
West Long Branch, NJ 07764
Dates August 02, 2010 - August 02, 2010 - CONFIRMED!
Primary CategoryMusic Event
Event CategoriesMusic Event, Opera
Description: http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/history/stories/synopsis.aspx?id=293

Synopsis

Carmen
Composer: Georges Bizet

Libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella by Prosper Mérimée
World premiere: Paris, Opéra comique, March 3, 1875

Act I
Seville. In a city square by a cigarette factory, soldiers watch the passers-by. Among them is Micaëla, a peasant girl, who asks for a corporal named Don José. Moralès, another corporal, tells her he will return with the changing of the guard. The relief guard, headed by Lieutenant Zuniga, soon arrives, and José learns from Moralès that Micaëla has been looking for him. When the factory bell rings, the men of Seville gather to watch the female workers—especially their favorite, the gypsy Carmen. She tells her admirers that love is free and obeys no rules (“L’amour est un oiseau rebelle”). Only one man pays no attention to her: Don José. Carmen throws a flower at him, and the girls go back to work. José picks up the flower and hides it when Micaëla returns. She brings a letter from José’s mother, who lives in the country (Duet: “Parle-moi de ma mère”). As he begins to read the letter, Micaëla leaves. José is about to throw away the flower when a fight erupts inside the factory between Carmen and another girl. Zuniga sends José to retrieve the gypsy. Carmen refuses to answer Zuniga’s questions, and José is ordered to take her to prison. Left alone with him, she entices José with suggestions of a rendezvous at Lillas Pastia’s tavern that night (“Près des remparts de Séville”). Mesmerized, he agrees to let her escape. As they leave for prison, Carmen slips away. Don José is arrested.

Act II
Carmen and her friends Frasquita and Mercédès entertain the guests at the tavern (“Les tringles des sistres tintaient”). Zuniga tells Carmen that José has just been released. The bullfighter Escamillo enters, boasting about the pleasures of his profession (“Votre toast, je peux vous le rendre”), and flirts with Carmen, who tells him that she is involved with someone else. After the tavern guests have left with Escamillo, the smugglers Dancaïre and Remendado explain their latest scheme to the women (Quintet: “Nous avons en tête une affaire”). Frasquita and Mercédès are willing to help, but Carmen refuses because she is in love. The smugglers withdraw as José approaches. Carmen arouses his jealousy by telling him how she danced for Zuniga. She dances for him now, but when a bugle call is heard he says he must return to the barracks. Carmen mocks him. To prove his love, José shows her the flower she threw at him and confesses how its scent made him not lose hope during the weeks in prison (“La fleur que tu m’avais jetée”). She is unimpressed: if he really loved her, he would desert the army and join her in a life of freedom in the mountains. José refuses, and Carmen tells him to leave. Zuniga bursts in, and in a jealous rage José fights him. The smugglers return and disarm Zuniga. José now has no choice but to join them.

Act III
Carmen and José quarrel in the smugglers’ mountain hideaway. She admits that her love is fading and advises him to return to live with his mother. When Frasquita and Mercédès turn the cards to tell their fortunes, they foresee love and riches for themselves, but Carmen’s cards spell death—for her and for José (“Carreau! Pique!… La mort!”). Micaëla appears, frightened by the mountains and afraid to meet the woman who has turned José into a criminal (“Je dis que rien ne m’épouvante”). She hides when a shot rings out. José has fired at an intruder, who turns out to be Escamillo. He tells José that he has come to find Carmen, and the two men fight. The smugglers separate them, and Escamillo invites everyone, Carmen in particular, to his next bullfight. When he has left, Micaëla emerges and begs José to return home. He agrees when he learns that his mother is dying, but before he leaves he warns Carmen that they will meet again.

Act IV
Back in Seville, the crowd cheers the bullfighters on their way to the arena. Carmen arrives on Escamillo’s arm, and Frasquita and Mercédès warn her that José is nearby. Unafraid, she waits outside the entrance as the crowds enter the arena. José appears and begs Carmen to forget the past and start a new life with him (Duet: “C’est toi!—C’est moi!”). She calmly tells him that their affair is over: she was born free and free she will die. The crowd is heard cheering Escamillo. José keeps trying to win Carmen back and she finally loses her temper, taking off his ring and throwing it at his feet before heading for the arena. José stabs her to death, then surrenders to the gathering crowd.
Contact nameEileen Chapman
Phone732-263-6889
Email Event PromoterClick Here
Show hoursMon 7pm-9:45 pm
Location Typea University
Year #First Year
Event Listing Chain June 20, 2010- Aida
July 22, 2010- La Boheme
July 29, 2010- Turandot
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Maps and Directions (from Google Maps)
Directions to Pollak Theatre

From the Garden State Parkway:
Take Exit 105. The Parkway off ramp leads directly onto Route 36 East. Continue on Route 36 East approximately 3 miles. Make right on to Rt. 71 South. 71 South forks left at the third light and becomes Cedar Avenue. at the second light, which is Norwood Ave. make a right. Make a right into the second entrance.

From the N.J. Turnpike:
From the south, take Turnpike North to Exit 7A. After toll plaza, take I-195 east to "Shore Points." Approaching Belmar, I-195 becomes NJ Route 138. After crossing Parkway, exit right to NJ Route 18 North marked "Eatontown." Take Deal Road exit and drive east to intersection at Monmouth Road. Turn left and proceed to third traffic light, which is Cedar
Avenue. Turn right on Cedar (also labeled NJ 71 South). At the second light which is Norwood Ave make a right. Make a right into the second entrance.

From the N.J. Turnpike:
From the North, take Turnpike South to Exit 11 (Garden State Parkway South). Take Exit 105 as outlined in #1 above. From Trenton and points West: Take I-195 east, and follow instructions outlined in #2 above.

From Freehold area:
Take U.S. Route 9 South to I-195 east. Follow instructions outlined in #2 above. The University has four vehicle entrances to the main campus: off Larchwood Avenue, off Cedar Avenue (Route 71), and two entrances off Norwood Avenue (Route 71).



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