Carmen (Cranko)

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Carmen is a full-length narrative ballet in seven pictures by John Cranko . Not only did the choreography come from him , but also the libretto . It is based on the novel of the same name by Prosper Mérimée . Wolfgang Fortner composed the music for the ballet in collaboration with Wilfried Steinbrenner . It is based on collages that they took from Georges Bizet's opera Carmen and implemented them using the twelve-tone technique . The work was premiered by the Stuttgart Ballet on February 28, 1971 in the Great House of the Württemberg State Theater in Stuttgart . Marcia Haydée danced the title role . In the other leading roles one saw Egon Madsen as Don José and Richard Cragun as a torero.

people

  • Carmen
  • Don José
  • The bullfighter
  • The guard in the cigarette factory
  • The officer
  • A foreign
  • Leader of the smugglers
  • 16 girls from the cigarette factory
  • 6 soldiers
  • 9 smugglers
  • 12 companions of the bullfighter
  • people

action

First picture: cigarette factory

The gypsy Carmen works in a cigarette factory. When she is reprimanded by the guard, she starts an argument that escalates into the fact that she seriously injures her superior with a dagger. Don José, a soldier from the Basque Country who is on duty in the factory as a guard, is ordered to arrest the gypsy woman and bring her under lock and key.

Second picture: prison

Carmen manages to ensnare Don José in such a way that he finally gives her freedom. As a punishment for this he is demoted.

Third picture: On the city wall

Don José keeps watch at the city wall. His thoughts still revolve around the gypsy. It is therefore easy for her to persuade the soldiers to let the smugglers, with whom she is common cause, into the city unhindered.

Fourth picture: In the gypsy camp

Don José has since deserted and joined the smugglers' gang. He's happy to be around Carmen all the time. But his luck doesn't last long. Soldiers tracked him down. When they want to arrest him, he stabs their leader.

Fifth picture: tavern on the beach

Carmen is preparing for her performance as a dancer. She sends her lover to the smugglers with a message. As soon as Don José has left the tavern, the torero arrives with a large entourage. He immediately casts an eye on the classy gypsy and immediately starts flirting with her. When Don José returns and has to watch his lover make beautiful eyes on the bullfighter, he is seized with jealousy. But the torero has only scorn and ridicule for his behavior.

Sixth picture: Barren area

The cards predict a violent death for Carmen. Don José suspects that her love for him is dwindling. He feels more and more like a driven man who no longer has a home. When Carmen disappears with a smile on the bullfighter's arm, nothing can stop him. Desperate, he follows the two of them.

Seventh picture: in front of the arena

The people cheerfully receive the torero. Carmen's eyes suddenly fall on Don José. She suspects what is in store for her. After a brief violent argument, she is murdered by the raging Basque.

Emergence

Cranko envisaged creating a ballet from Prosper Mérimée's material, completely detached from Bizet's opera. With this request he turned to the composer Wolfgang Fortner. The latter, however, could not get used to the idea of ​​composing “Carmen” from Bizet anew and therefore declined. But then the thought couldn't get out of his head. In discussions with his colleague Wilfried Steinbrenner, the plan gradually matured to create collages from Bizet's music, which he valued so much, and to insert variations at suitable points. Cranko agreed to that.

As early as the spring of 1972, Cranko took the ballet off the program again because he was no longer satisfied with some parts. He wanted to revise this choreographically. His early death, however, thwarted the plan. When Marcia Haydée succeeded him, she had long had the plan to include ballet back in the repertoire. But there were big problems: At the Stuttgart Ballet Company it was customary to record the ballets with Benesh Movement notation and video; this was not the case with “Carmen” alone. When Cranko choreographed the ballet, the Stuttgart choreologist was in London, and the company didn't have a video at that time. After long research, Marcia Haydée found an 8mm color film that a fan had shot illegally when the Stuttgart troupe was giving a guest performance at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. However, this one was missing the entire seventh image. The director was already determined to re-choreograph the ending until she found out that a short report had been filmed for the premiere in 1971 by the then Süddeutscher Rundfunk , and this recording contained the entire last part. Using the film recordings, the choreologist was able to record everything precisely. In this miraculous way the ballet could be saved for the stage.