A one-act ballet to Bizet-R. Carmen Suite"

The phallic image of Carmen has been stirring the imagination of artists from all walks of life for more than a hundred years. We have Prosper Mérimée to thank for it: the third part of his short story "Carmen" also inspired Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, the authors of the libretto for Georges Bizet's opera. Although the opera's premiere in Paris in 1985 was a fiasco, it has earned the composer eternal fame, and the passionate melodies of Carmen are familiar to audiences of all generations. They live on in many shapes and forms, from theatre productions to concert performances, from transcriptions for various instruments to mobile phone ringtones.

Panevėžys is no exception - the story of the nemesis Carmen is a savoury spice in the repertoire of the city's Music Theatre, famous for its operettas. The Baltic Ballet Theatre's Maria Simona Šimulynaitė's Carmen, based on G. Bizet-R. The one-act ballet for four dancers and holograms, created by M. S. Šimulynaitė, director of Bizet's Bizet's Suite Carmen, is the first version of the production of this work, in which technology is given a special place: the drama of the performance is joined by hologram video projections like a distinct character.

"The role of Carmen is every ballerina's dream", - says director and choreographer M. S. Šimulynaitė, who has entrusted the main role of the ballet to Evelina Fokina. Carmen's lovers and other characters are embodied by three dancers - Pijus Ožalas (Don José), Simonas Laukaitis (toreador Escamillo) and Danielius Voinov (soldier, fortune teller, guillotine) - and such a record-breakingly small ballet is unique not only in Lithuania, but also worldwide.

This is not the first time that the choreographer and the director have combined dance and holographic video projections, and the audience of the contemporary ballet performance Army of Solitude could see this spectacular spectacle as well, with the performers dancing to the music of Bjork. This latest experiment by the artist has attracted a lot of attention. Carmen is another attempt to fuse different art forms, inviting the audience into a powerful and multidimensional performance.

The performance uses a legendary recording of Sauliaus Sondeckis and the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra's interpretation.