The second opera scheduled for the 100th edition of the Arena di Verona Opera Festival with a spectacular five-night production is Carmen.

The Georges Bizet's masterpiece will be staged has the late director Franco Zeffirelli had arranged. The story shows a strong passion against the backdrop of a dynamic Seville, which contrasts with a fitting and tight realism of cinematic form.

Carmen is a comic opera by Georges Bizet in four acts, to a libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy. Based on the novel of the same name by Prosper Mérimée (1845), it makes some salient changes, including the introduction of the characters of Escamillo and Micaela, and the character of Don José.

It was first performed at the Opéra-Comique in Paris on 3 March 1875. This is the work that opens the doors to the Verist current in Opera, which chose to represent stories more relevant to “real” life, references to events in the news, with more realistic and endowed characters with psychological complexity.

Performances:
- 23 June at 9:15 p.m.
- 6 July at 9:00 p.m.
- 11 and 24 August at 8:45 p.m.
- 6 September at 8:45 p.m.