San Diego Opera will close its season of classics next weekend with one of the world’s most popular operas, Georges Bizet’s 1875 tragedy “Carmen.”
This will be the 11th production of “Carmen” in San Diego Opera’s 61-year history, and more than 25 other productions of “Carmen” have been planned around the world this year.
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While the music and story of “Carmen” never changes, San Diego Opera General Director and CEO David Bennett said this production will bring new experiences to the stage.
Almost all of the principal singers are making their company debuts, and this production will look and feel different than any “Carmen” productions San Diego Opera-goers have seen in the past.
Mezzo-soprano Melody Wilson will play Carmen in San Diego Opera’s “Carmen” on March 27 and 29, 2026. Mezzo Guadalupe Paz will play the role March 28. (San Diego Opera)
Tenor Thomas Kinch will play will play Don José in San Diego Opera’s “Carmen” on March 27 and 29, 2026. Tenor Jonathan Kaufman will play the role March 28. (San Diego Opera)
San Diego mezzo-soprano Guadalupe Paz will play the title role in San Diego Opera’s “Carmen” on March 28, 2026. Melody Wilson will play the role March 27 and 29. (San Diego Opera)
Tenor Jonathan Kaufman will play will play Don José in San Diego Opera’s “Carmen,” on March 28, 2026. Tenor Jonathan Kinch will play the role March 27 and 29. (San Diego Opera)
Baritone Aleksey Bogdanov will play Escamillo in San Diego Opera’s “Carmen,” March 27-29, 2026. (San Diego Opera)
Soprano Lydia Grindatto will play Micaëla in San Diego Opera’s “Carmen,” March 27-29, 2026. (San Diego Opera)
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Mezzo-soprano Melody Wilson will play Carmen in San Diego Opera’s “Carmen” on March 27 and 29, 2026. Mezzo Guadalupe Paz will play the role March 28. (San Diego Opera)
This production, originally presented at Minnesota Opera by director Keturah Stickann, moves the story slightly forward in time, and the visually stunning scenery and lighting will gives the story an almost cinematic quality.
Stickann is re-creating her staging here for San Diego Opera. A longtime company collaborator, she started out with San Diego Opera as a dancer and choreographer.
She has also directed multiple company productions, including “Don Quixote,” “Turandot,” “La Boheme” and “The Barber of Seville.”
Bennett expects San Diego audiences will love Stickann’s vibrant, dance-infused interpretation.
“It’s updated slightly, but it looks like the world of ‘Carmen’ that you’d expect,” Bennett said. “Keturah is a dancer and choreographer. She’s not choreographing this time, but the idea of the dancer is conceiving the dramaturgy within the frame of an existing production. It will be quite beautiful for us and it will be fabulously sung.”
Thanks to Bugs Bunny cartoons and the TV show “Gilligan’s Island,” most Americans 50 and over are familiar with the music of “Carmen,” if not the story.
French composer Bizet based his opera on the 1845 French novella “Carmen” by Prosper Mérimée, though Bizet’s version is not as dark and gritty.
The opera is about Don José, a naive young man who leaves his small town to join the Spanish army. Arriving in Seville, he encounters Carmen, a capricious and flirtatious Gypsy cigarette factor worker, and falls in love.
When Carmen lands in jail for fighting, she uses Don José to help her escape to the mountains where they join a gang of smugglers. Carmen grows tired of Don José’s possessiveness and returns to Seville alone to reunite with her lover Escamillo, the bullfighter. But Don José vows bloody revenge for her betrayal.
The opera’s most famous music pieces are Carmen’s “Habanera,” Don José’s “Flower”song and Escamilla’s “Toreador” song. San Diego Symphony musicians will perform the opera’s score under the baton of conductor Louis Lohraseb, who is making his company debut.
The roles of Carmen and Don José have been double-cast, since opera singers — who traditionally perform without microphone amplification — need a day of vocal rest between shows.
On Friday night and next Sunday afternoon, Germany-based mezzo-soprano Melody Wilson will play Carmen opposite Welsh tenor Thomas Kinch as Don José, both in their company debuts.
Next Saturday’s performance will star Tijuana-based mezzo-soprano Guadalupe Paz as Carmen and American tenor Jonny Kaufman as Don José in his company debut. Although Paz has performed with San Diego Opera several times, this will be the first time she has sung the role of Carmen. in the U.S.
Also making their company debuts are Ukraine-born American baritone Aleksey Bogdanov as Escamillo and American soprano Lydia Grindatto as Micaëla, Don José’s former girlfriend.
Bennett said he’s excited to introduce San Diego audiences to all of the singers making their debuts, particularly Wilson and Kinch.
“She has a big, beautiful voice. It’s full of color and has a seductive kind of quality to the singing,” Bennett said. “Thomas was an Adler Fellow with San Francisco Opera where he had great reviews and very good press. I’m thrilled to bring him here. He has a very big voice that’s dark in quality and he has the personality to portray Don Jose as a little unsettled.”
San Diego Opera presents ‘Carmen’
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 2 p.m. next Sunday
Where: San Diego Civic Theatre, 1100 Third Ave., downtown
Tickets: $55-$305
Phone: 619-533-7000
Online: sdopera.org