Carmen | INGER

Revisiting the myth without ever betraying it, Swedish choreographer Johan Inger skilfully relocates the novel’s original setting : a tobacco factory, the neighborhood of Seville and the mountains of Ronda - to a neglected suburb, and focuses on violence through the pure eyes of a child. A timeless dress code of red, white and black; a play of mirrors that infinitely multiplies the silhouettes; a precious spectrum of light between colored flashes and black shadows: the combination of hot and cold breathes new life into the ballet, which redoubles its energy and voluptuousness. More than ever, Carmen is a free, courageous, contemporary heroine... even an apocalyptic personality.

When Johan Inger was commissioned by the Compania Nacional de Danza in Madrid to create a new version of Carmen, since he is Swedish and Carmen is a work with a strong Spanish character, he was faced with an enormous challenge, but also a great opportunity. His approach to this universal myth should bring something new to the table.
That’s why the choreographer decided to focus on the subject of violence, approaching it through a pure, unpolluted eye - that of a child. Starting from this point of view, Inger creates a character who implies that we witness everything that happens, through his innocent eyes, at the same time as we contemplate his own transformation.

CARMEN | JOHAN INGER
Choreography: Johan Inger
Assistant: Urtzi Aranburu
Dramaturgy: Gregor Acuña Pohl
Music: Rodion Shchedrin, Georges Bizet
Re-orchestration Bizet: Alvaro Dominguez
Original composition: Marc Alvarez
Lighting: Tom Visser
Sets: Curt Allen Wilmer, Leticia Gañan (aapee) with estudiodeDos
Costumes: David Delfin
Re-stage for Les Ballets Monte Carlo by: Toby Mallitt, Javier Rodriguez Cobos

World Premiere by the Compaňia Nacional de Danza Madrid on April 9th 2015, Teatro de la Zarzuela, Madrid, Espagne
Premiere by Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo on December 30th 2023, Grimaldi Forum Monaco