Sultry beauties dance the fandango on tavern tables, matadors prove their manhood in the bullring, and passion blazes under the Spanish sun.
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Armidale audiences can escape from winter, and thrill to the heat of one of the world’s most popular music dramas, as Melbourne City Ballet presents an all-dancing version of Bizet’s Carmen next week.
The ballet, choreographed by Michael Pappalardo, is based on Bizet’s opera – scandalous in its day, and a failure at its first production –today one of the three most frequently performed operas in the world.
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The Spanish soldier, Don José, falls under the spell of the gypsy Carmen. She’s too much a free spirit to be tied to any one man. Driven by lust and jealousy, he descends through an underworld of cigarette girls and smugglers, until he commits murder.
The tunes are catchy, pouring out with almost inexhaustible fertility. Half the world knows them.
Open Tintin and the Broken Ear. There’s a museum guard singing the Toréador song. Turn on the television, and Carmen is advertising everything from fast food to sports and printers. It’s a standard of radio stations; at one point, ABC Classic FM played highlights from Carmen daily.
“The splendor of Carmen is in the passionate pas de deux’s and stirring group numbers,” a Melbourne City Ballet spokesperson said, “so whether it’s the seductive factory workers that lure you in or the strutting bullfighters that set your hearts aflutter, Melbourne City Ballet’s Carmen is a vibrant and bold production that from the very first overture will have audiences en garde!”
Melbourne City Ballet will also provide opportunities for young dancers seeking to experience being a part of a live ballet production.
Young dancers can register to be part of this production, representing their communities onstage with the company.
Various roles need to be filled for this production. Melbourne City Ballet will be predominately looking for dancers, both boys and girls, aged between 8 and 18 years old. Basic ballet skills and knowledge are required.
Dancers will learn the choreography within the workshop. Those who are successful will be notified at the end of the workshop and will be given more detailed information about the show.
Auditions will include participation in community workshops, which are $10 per head.
Carmen: TAS Hoskins Centre, Friday June 1, 7.30pm. Tickets $25 – $35. Book online.
To audition for the ballet, register online on the Melbourne City Ballet's webpage. Auditions will be held at 3.30pm at the TAS Hoskins Centre.