Uploaded August 2025 | Updated September 2026, 18 hours ago
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.
'Carmen' runs September 18-28 at the Lyric Opera House. Purchase tickets at joffrey.org/carmen.
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.
'Carmen' runs September 18-28 at the Lyric Opera House. Purchase tickets at joffrey.org/carmen.










