PicksInSix Review: Carmen - Joffrey Ballet - Lyric Opera House
Lust Conquers All: Tragedy En Pointe
PicksInSix® Review | Guest Contributor | Sarah Frances Fiorello
The Joffrey Ballet kicks off its 70th anniversary season by drenching the Lyric Opera Grand Foyer in crimson red, preparing the evening's audience for a night of passion, desire, and tragedy. Liam Scarlett’s “Carmen” is adapted from Bizet’s 1875 opera “Carmen” with libretto inspired by the 1845 novella by Prosper Mérimée. Scarlett’s “Carmen” was originally commissioned and performed in 2015 at the Norwegian National Ballet and now receives its U.S. Premiere with the Joffrey Ballet at the Lyric Opera House.
The scene is set in 1930s Spain in a small factory town, while the country is on the brink of civil war. Guards watch over the cigarette factory and its workers; when Carmen is forced out of the factory due to a fight, Don José is assigned to guard her. He quickly falls under her seductive spell, whilst his teenage love, Micaëla, hangs in the balance. With Don José’s help, Carmen escapes to a tavern where she meets Escamillo, a famous bullfighter, and her spellbinding equal. Don José finds Carmen at the tavern and professes his love. The two decide to run away together, but before Carmen can rendezvous with Don José, she re-encounters Escamillo who seduces her yet again with the promise of a rich, wonderful life. She takes him, pens a letter to Don José retracting her declaration of love, which is entrusted to—who else—Micaëla to deliver.
Micaëla finds Don José and pleads with him to go with her and to remember their love. But Don José sees only Carmen, says so, and when presented with the letter, unravels. In his deep despair, Don José goes to Carmen on her wedding day, desperate to run away with her. In a state of blind passion, he stabs her: killing the temptress who stole his heart.
Scarlett’s “Carmen” is blazing, intimate, and brutally honest—a universal story that is likely to shoot like an arrow through all 3,500 hearts in the Ardis Krainik Theatre. Who hasn’t chosen poorly in the face of true love? Carmen chose a life of luxury, Don José chose carnal desire. Both blinded with lust while love lingers behind them, left to wither away until it's lost completely. All without a word spoken, told only through movement and potent emotional storytelling by every member of the Joffrey company.
Victoria Jaiani is viscerally intoxicating in the role of Carmen. She brings a masterful art of seduction to every moment of her performance, leaving no question as to how Don José, danced expertly by Alberto Velazquez, could risk everything to chase her beauty and mystery to his own demise. Dylan Gutierrez commands the stage in the role of Escamillo, while Gayeon Jung’s performance as Micaëla leaves a lingering heartache for youthful love, expressed so purely and perfectly, it stings with sincerity.
The 40 plus piece Lyric Opera Orchestra shines under the musical direction of Scott Speck, while the scenic design and costumes by Scarlett’s frequent collaborator, Jon Bausor, provide a stark, industrial ambiance to the story. The star, of course, is Scarlett’s choreography: a masterful expression of the human form, in all its beauty and its wonder. Frequent Joffrey patrons may remember his critically acclaimed “Frankenstein” from the 2023 season. “Carmen” counts as his fourth ballet, now posthumously, added to the Joffrey’s repertoire. Treat yourself to this adults-only night at the ballet: “Carmen” runs for 10 performances only, now through September 28th.
CASTING NOTE: The Joffrey company alternates at all performances. Check casting for each date here.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR | SARAH FRANCES FIORELLO is a graduate of Shenandoah Conservatory with a BFA in Music Theatre and a Chicago-based poet, writer, and performer. @writtenbysarahfrances
PHOTO | Cheryl Mann
CARMEN
Lyric Opera
20 North Wacker Drive
through September 28, 2025
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