Georges Bizet's opera touches hearts of opera lovers

By Azernews

By Laman Ismayilova

Georges Bizet's "Carmen" has once again delighted opera lovers in Baku, Azernews reports.

The State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater invited the leading soloist of the Moscow New Opera Anastasia Lepeshinskaya and the soloist of the National Academic Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theater of Belarus Dmitry Shabetya to share the same stage with People's Artists of Azerbaijan Ali Askarov and Gulnaz Ismayilova, Honored Artist Tural Agasiyev, soloists Fatima Jafarzade, Taleh Yahyayev, Fahmin Ahmadli, Mahir Taghizade, and Nina Makarova as well as Banovsha children's choir under the leadership of Honored Art Worker Sevil Hajiyeva.

The opera artists performed under the baton of the theater's musical director, Honored Artist Ayyub Guliyev. Their brilliant performance touched the hearts of opera lovers.

Since its premiere in Paris in 1875, Georges Bizet's work "Carmen" has been one of the most frequently performed operas in the world.

The opera is based on a novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera is written in the genre of opéra comique.

Carmen was a gypsy girl who worked in a cigar factory. An army officer, Don José, was called to the factory as a fight broke out. He arrested Carmen because she hit another woman. However, he became enchanted with the exotic Carmen, and let her escape.

Don José deserted the army and followed Carmen into the mountains. But the beautiful gypsy soon got tired of the steadfast Don José and fell in love with Escamillo, a dashing bullfighter. Devastated, Don José confronted Carmen outside the bullring. As the crowd cheered Escamillo in the background, Don José stabbed Carmen to death.