Carmen

Performance Details

  • When September 18—28, 2025
  • Choreography Liam Scarlett
  • Where Lyric Opera House
  • Music Georges Bizet
  • Run Time 2 Hours and 50 Minutes; Two Intermissions

From the choreographer of the critically acclaimed Frankenstein, the Joffrey presents the U.S. premiere of Liam Scarlett's Carmen, a tale of love, betrayal, and defiance set within the gritty confines of a cigarette factory in 1930s Spain.

Amid the chaos of a nation on the brink of civil war, the uncompromising and seductive Carmen, who insists on loving whom she chooses, meets Don José, whose consuming devotion ignites a blaze of passion and peril.

In this adaptation of Bizet's opera, Scarlett brings new intensity to a performance that pulsates with life—and ends in tragedy. With striking designs by Jon Bausor and Scarlett's signature focus on evocative storytelling, Carmen commands the stage into a tempest of desire and destruction, revealing the timeless story of a woman who dares to live on her own terms.

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Schedule and Tickets

Choreographer and Composer

Liam Scarlett

Liam Scarlett was a British choreographer who created works for The Royal Ballet, Miami City Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, and more.

Georges Bizet

Georges Bizet was a French Romantic composer best known for his opera Carmen and the instrumental music for L'Arlésienne.

Carmen Sponsor

Carmen Sponsor

Production Sponsor

  • Holly Palmer Foundation
  • Max Mara