A night watching opera
Lose yourself to the wonders of opera on the big screen
An opera brings its audience to a world created through an interesting collaboration between a librettist and composer. Vocalists put life to opera through their stunning performances, enhanced by the live orchestral accompaniment. It’s a wonderful experience that shouldn’t be missed. Fortunately, this coming May, the Cultural Center of the Philippines will once again allow people the opportunity to witness classical opera masterpieces through its ninth season of The Met: Live in HD.
Your journey to the opera experience begins on May 7, starting with French composer Georges Bizet’s Carmen, a tragic opera about a gypsy woman who seduces an army corporal guarding her prison cell. Their tumultuous love affair ends when Carmen turns her attention to a bullfighter. Thus, a tale of jealousy and violence plays out. Fittingly, this sad tale also comes with a tragic backstory.
Based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Merimee, French librettists Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halevy wrote the libretto for the opera, with music by Bizet. Unfortunately, Bizet never saw Carmen’s rise to fame as he died due to a heart condition at the young age of 36.
Though Bizet was unable to see how much of an impact Carmen left, his work lives on even in modern times. Beyonce, one of the world’s top performers, helped popularize it twice. Once for performing a rewritten version of Carmen’s most well-known track, “Habanera,” for a Pepsi commercial and another time by starring in a modernized film version of Carmen entitled Carmen: A Hip Hopera in 2001.
Bizet’s “Habanera” has also been referenced countless times in many iconic shows like The Simpsons, Sesame Street, Gilligan’s Island, and even in films like Disney’s Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers, Pixar’s Up and the Marx Brothers’ The Cocoanuts.
Catch Carmen in theaters at Greenbelt 3 Cinema 1, Makati City. Ticket prices are ₱100 for students and ₱350 for regular audiences.
Based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Merimee, French librettists Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halevy wrote the libretto for the opera, with music by Bizet. Unfortunately, Bizet never saw Carmen’s rise to fame as he died due to a heart condition at the young age of 36.