Prosper Merimee

The story of three loves of the tempestuous and beautiful actress Camilla.

"Steven Pimlott's grand-scale production ... expresses vividly the world of smugglers, soldiers, bullfighters, flamenco dancers, procession and carnival--a celebration of life before the final death. Maria Ewing sings the part of the hot-blooded, passionate Gypsy with all the the tempermant and fury that the role demands, progressing from fun-loving woman through her savage treatment of Don Jose to her confrontation with death"--Contaniner.

Carmen, a beautiful sultry gypsy, woos the corporal Don José. Their relationship leads to his rejection of his former love, mutiny against his superior, and joining a gang of smugglers. His jelousy when she turns from him to the bullfighter Escamillo leads him to murder Carmen.

Carmen: A young Spanish officer throws his life away for the love of a gypsy temptress. La traviata: Violetta, who is dying of consumption, leaves her beloved Alfredo at the request of his father, only to be reunited shortly before her death. Aida: Set in ancient Egypt, this opera tells the love story of the Ethiopian slave girl, Aida, and the Egyptian soldier, Radames, and of the jealousy of Amneris, the daughter of the Egyptian king.