The Tragedy Of Don José
Presented by the Chattanooga Symphony & Opera, Georges Bizet’s celebrated and once-controversial tragic opera “Carmen”, a devastating story of conflicted Spanish lovers, opens this week at the Tivoli Theatre.
The nineteenth-century French opera never saw popularity or acclaim until a decade after Bizet’s death, but it stands now as a classic of the genre and one of the most widely performed operas today.
The opera’s plot centers around Don José, a soldier stationed in southern Spain, who falls for the alluring charm of a gypsy woman, Carmen. Despite his pledge to his family and the military, José deserts both in favor of his newly found love interest, initiating his fatal ruin.
To José’s frustration, Carmen finds love elsewhere, fancying the bullfighter Escamillo. Her fleeing love sparks a bitter conflict between the bullfighter and the soldier, culminating in a showdown and fateful death within a bullring.
But who dies tragically? Who survives only to live in constant agony? Come witness the moving opera in its live grandeur to learn the answers to these pressing questions.
“Carmen” will be performed this Thursday and Saturday at the Tivoli Theatre at 7:30 p.m. For tickets and more information, visit tivolichattanooga.com