Carmen - Ballet Julien Lestel

While respecting the original storyline, this new adaptation of Carmen, with a very urban and resolutely contemporary feel, resonates with the current awareness of women's place in our society, their emancipation, their desire for equality, and raises the question of femicide.

The four main characters, whose personalities are very distinct, are treated equally in constant interaction: Carmen, an actress in her own life, in search of freedom, will stop at nothing to keep it; Don José, with a wise temperament, madly in love, abandons his well-ordered, pre-destined life and, driven by his murderous jealousy, goes so far as to commit the irreparable; Micaëla, his fiancée, a young woman who would not dream of questioning the traditional life assigned to her; Escamillo, a famous and adored bullfighter for whom everything succeeds, feels he is on the side of the powerful.

The different themes are developed through choreography devoid of narration. We witness street scenes that exude great vitality. Furthermore, bodies intertwine in aerial love scenes whose energy is drawn from the ground. The dynamic yet fluid gestures reveal new forms of movement.

The musical choice, in harmony with the choreography, finds its originality in the alternation of Bizet's instrumental work, accompanied by two sung pieces, with a contemporary creation by Iván Julliard.

The performers are in street clothes and the minimalist scenography is stripped of all theatricality. Lo-Ammy Vaimatapako's lights are architectural and play with contrasts to highlight every movement of the dancers.

This is a Carmen transposed into today's world, beyond all borders. The Ballet Julien Lestel receives support from the City of Marseille and the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Region. Choreography: Julien LESTELMus