Frederic Antoun

The opera "Carmen" caused a scandal at its premiere at the Opéra Comique in Paris. Now the feisty Carmen returns to where it all began. Andreas Homoki sets his new production at the Opéra Comique in several eras. Mezzo-soprano Gaëlle Arquez shines in the leading role, with Louis Langrée as musical director. Georges Bizet's world-famous opera returns to the site of its world premiere in 1875. German director Andreas Homoki transposes the story of the beautiful Romani woman and the soldier Don José into three epochs corresponding to the opera: the year of its scandalous premiere; the time of the Resistance, which alludes to the secret love affair; and the present day with the #MeToo movement, which stands for the heroine's sexual emancipation. Recording from April 26, 2023 at the Opéra Comique, Paris

On a June night in 2017, opera lovers thronged to the Royal Opera House in London to hear tenor Jonas Kaufmann, recently acclaimed by The Daily Telegraph as the world s greatest tenor, make his eagerly anticipated debut in the title role of Otello Verdi s greatest and most demanding role for tenor voice. As the New York Times wrote Mr. Kaufmann made his debut in the part, and he calmly, confidently sang it for the ages.