AllMovie

Georges Bizet's 1875 Carmen -- one of history's famed operas -- receives a new version in this home release, Carmen. A film of the July 16, 2005 stage production -- mounted by the Spanish Ballet of Valencia, accompanied by The Chorus and Orchestra of the National Theatre Brno and directed for the stage by Gianfranco de Bosio -- this interpretation preserves the composer/librettist's original narrative, with little revisionism. The stunning gypsy Carmen (Nadia Kresteva) -- a femme fatale notorious for breaking the hearts (and ruining the lives) of dozens of suitors -- seduces Don José (Aleksandrs Antonenko), encouraging him to stage a mutiny against his superior. Partially to satiate her, Don José enlists with a band of smugglers that includes Carmen, but her about face and sudden impassioned romance with Escamillo (Sebastian Holecek) pushes Don José to the brink of sanity. The supporting players in this production include Asa Elmgren as Micaëla, Violetta Kowal as Frasquita, and Stephanie Atanasow as Mercédès.