(Credit: © Rolando Paolo Guerzoni)

Annalisa Stroppa is set to perform the title roel of Bizet’s “Carmen” at three of Italy’s Regional theaters.

The mezzo-soprano will first perform the work at the Teatro Comunale di Modena April 10 and 12 April followed by the Teatro Municipale di Piacenza on April 17 and 19 and last at the Teatro Alighieri di Ravenna on April 24 and 26.

The new staging, created in collaboration with the OperaLombardia circuit, is conducted by Audrey Saint-Gil and directed by Stefano Vizioli.

The mezzo will be joined by a cast that includes Joseph Dahdah, Gianluca Failla, and Jaquelina Livieri. 

In a statement Stroppa noted, “Whenever I’m about to interpret the role of Carmen, as well as diving with heart and mind into the new production and preparing for Bizet’s sublime, sophisticated music, I find myself wondering why this character is so fascinating. This gypsy cigar maker, who seduces unrestrainedly, chasing every erotic whim with no concern for the price she will pay for this choice of freedom, unperturbed by living in illegality, was (and is) such a powerful figure; not a positive one but a perfect symbol of nonconformity. The modernity evoked by Carmen lies, above all, in her longing for freedom and shows us that history, full of destinies like hers, always has and, unfortunately, always will repeat itself. This is the reason for Carmen’s magnetism: first Mérimée, then Meilhac, Halévy and Bizet with his profoundly compelling music, bestow on her the right to self-determination and a fierce awareness of her sexual supremacy, making her a tragic heroine and, as a consequence, always in line with the times.”