Act III

José, who has been forced to accompany Carmen into hiding, thinks with remorse of his aged mother. Carmen is tired of him. She engages in a tarot card reading with Frasquita and Mercédès. The cards reveal that her fate is sealed: it will be the death for her and José. The smugglers go off with the women to do their shady business. Michaëla enters, looking for José. She hides waiting for him to return. Escamillo arrives looking for Carmen. The jealous José provokes a fight with the toreador as Carmen arrives just in time to separate them. Michaëla’s presence is discovered, and she tells José that his mother is dying and beseeches him to follow her. José, stricken with grief and jealousy, follows Michaëla out, but not before promising—and threatening—Carmen that he will return.

Act IV

A square is filled by a noisy crowd awaiting the arrival of the bull-fighter. Escamillo enters with Carmen on his arm. Frasquita and Mercedes warn Carmen of José whom they have seen lurking around. Carmen shuns their warnings, and says that she will confront José and end the relationship once and for all. After the crowd funnels into the arena, José implores Carmen to come back to him and love him again. She tosses away the ring which he had given her, and defiantly proclaims her love for Escamillo. Just as Escamillo defeats the bull, José stabs Carmen to death. He falls sobbing over her corpse, calling out her name in despair and admitting his guilt.

Since his first operatic staging—Haydn’s Il Mondo della Luna at Opera Zuid, Maastricht, in 1999— Calixto Bieito has staged operas by Verdi (Un Ballo in Maschera, Macbeth, Il Trovatore, La Traviata, Don Carlos), Mozart (Don Giovanni, Così Fan Tutte, Die Entführung aus dem Serail), Wagner (Der Fliegende

Holländer, Parsifal, Tannhäuser), Puccini, Berg (Wozzeck, Lulu), Gluck (Armida), Beethoven (Fidelio) at the most renowned international opera houses such as English National Opera, Welsh National Opera, Komische Oper Berlin, Vlaamse Opera, Theater Basel, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Stuttgart Opera, Opernhaus Zürich, Den Norske Opera Oslo, Bayerische Staastoper, Munich and Opéra National de Paris. He first presented his staging of Carmen in Spain in 1999, followed by productions and revivals at Opera Ireland, Dublin (2002), Vlaamse Opera, Antwerp and Ghent (2004), Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona (2010), Teatro Auditorio

San Lorenzo del Escorial, Madrid (2009), Theater Basel (2011), Teatro Massimo, Palermo (2011), La Fenice, Venice (2012), Teatro Mayor Julio Mario Santo Domingo in Bogotá (2012), English National Opera (2012), Den Norske Opera Oslo (2015), and San Francisco Opera (2016). He was awarded an Abbiati Award 2011 by the Italian Association of Musical Critics for his staging of Carmen. Forthcoming: La Forza del Destino at The Metropolitan Opera, New York.

ALFONS FLORES Set Designer

Alfons Flores has collaborated with such directors as Àlex Ollé (La Fura dels Baus), Joan Lluís Bozzo, Carlos Wagner and Guy Joosten. With Calixto

Bieito, he has designed sets for Un Ballo in Maschera, Don Giovanni, Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Die Fledermaus and Wozzeck. His work with Barcelona’s La

Fura dels Baus has included sets for Le Grand Macabre, The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny and Enescu’s Oedipe. He has also designed sets for the World Premiere of Francesconi’s Quartett at La Scala. Mr. Flores has been awarded critics’ prizes in Dublin and Barcelona.

ROBERT WIERZEL Lighting Designer

Robert Wierzel returns to Boston Lyric Opera where his most recent production with the Company was The Merry Widow. He has worked with artists from diverse disciplines and backgrounds in art, opera, theatre, and dance on stages throughout the country and abroad. His opera credits include productions

with the companies of Paris Palais-Garnier, Tokyo, Toronto, New York City Opera, Glimmerglass, Chicago Lyric, Washington DC, and Seattle, among many others. His theatre work has been seen at many major companies throughout the country, as well as on and off Broadway, including Lady Day At Emerson’s Bar & Grill, starring Audra McDonald, and the Broadway musical Fela! (Tony Award nomination). Mr. Wierzel has a 31-year history with the director/choreographer Bill T. Jones and the BTJ/AZ Company. He is a faculty member of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.

JASON ALLEN Wig and Makeup Designer

Jason Allen has been BLO’s Resident Wig and Makeup Designer since 2003. A fixture of the Boston performing arts community, he also works with Huntington Theatre Company, Boston Ballet, and many other organizations in Boston and throughout the country.

ROGER HONEYWELL Tenor
DON JOSÉ

Roger Honeywell returns to Boston Lyric Opera as Don José in Carmen. He appeared as Count Danilo in BLO’s The Merry Widow after performing it at Michigan Opera Theatre in the 2014/15 Season. Mr.

Honeywell performed with the Théâtre du Châtelet as Torasso in Sondheim’s Passion and in the World Premiere of Jennifer Higdon’s Cold Mountain in the role of Veasey with Santa Fe Opera. He also appeared in Calgary as Nikolaus Sprink for the Canadian premiere of Kevin Puts’ Silent Night and Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus with Vancouver Opera. This past July, he appeared as Archbishop Roche in the World Premiere of John Estacio’s Ours with Opera on the Avalon in Newfoundland, Canada. This Season, Mr. Honeywell joins The Royal

Opera, Covent Garden for their production of The Exterminating Angel.

CHELSEA BASLER Soprano
MICAËLA

Chelsea Basler is a Boston resident and BLO Jane and Steven Akin Emerging Artist alumna. An award- winning soprano, Ms. Basler’s BLO credits include Valencienne in The Merry Widow, Zerlina in Don Giovanni, Flora Bervoix in La Traviata and Isolt the Fair

in The Love Potion. She recently debuted the role of Sara in the World Premiere of Cold Mountain with Santa Fe Opera, played Josephine

in HMS Pinafore (Opera Saratoga), and Curley’s Wife in Of Mice and Men (Sarasota Opera). Other recital and oratorio credits include a recital at the National Opera Center in New York City and Mozart’s Exultate Jubilate with the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra. She performed the role of Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro for Opera Saratoga this summer and will join Virginia Opera to cover the role of Liù in their production of Turandot.

VINCENT TURREGANO Baritone
MORALÈS

Vincent Turregano returns to Boston Lyric Opera for his second Season as a BLO Jane and Steven Akin Emerging Artist. Mr. Turregano was most

recently seen in The Merry Widow and in Puccini’s La Bohème. He spent two summers with Marilyn Horne

at The Music Academy of the West where he performed in Carmen as an ensemble member and La Cenerentola as Dandini. Mr. Turregano

is an avid recitalist. This past season, he could be found in Louisiana, Arizona, and Massachusetts giving recitals in varying repertoire. His love of contemporary classical music is a driving force in his performance career. From Ligeti to Stucky, he enjoys the challenge and nerve that it takes to bring convincing and powerful performances of new music to all audiences.

SAMUEL LEVINE Tenor
EL REMENDADO

Samuel Levine, a candidate for the Artist Diploma

in Opera Studies at the Juilliard School, was featured this Season as Le Mari in Les Mamelles de Tirésias;

in recital with Steven Blier under the auspices of NYFOS@Juilliard and the 5 Boroughs Music Festival;

and First Armed Guard in Die Zauberflöte. He also appeared as Testo in Monteverdi’s Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda with Cantata Profana; as Lenski in Eugene Onegin with Eugene Opera; and his debut with Bard SummerScape in Mascagni’s Iris. Recent highlights include

Don José in Carmen with Savannah Voice Festival, Narraboth in Salome with Virginia Opera, and the dual roles of Testo in Il Combattimento and Noah in the World Premiere of Lembit Beecher’s I Have No Stories to Tell You with Gotham Chamber Opera. Upcoming engagements include a debut with Opera Philadelphia, and a return to Juilliard. He is a graduate of Yale University, the Oberlin College Conservatory, and the young artist training programs of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and Santa Fe Opera.

HEATHER GALLAGHER Mezzo-Soprano
MERCÉDÈS

Heather Gallagher is a BLO Jane and Steven Akin Emerging Artist alumna. BLO credits include Sylviane in The Merry Widow, Kätchen in Werther and Isolt’s Mother in The Love Potion. Additional credits include Marquise in La Fille du Régiment with Opera North,

the title role in Carmen with MetroWest Opera, Charlotte in Les Lettres de Werther with Boston Opera Collaborative, Cherubino in Le Nozze

di Figaro with Vero Beach Opera and Asakir in the Boston premiere of Sumeida’s Song with Boston Opera Collaborative. Ms. Gallagher is a recipient of numerous awards and honors including BLO’s Shrestinian Award, First Place in the Peter Elvin’s Competition and MetroWest Opera Competition, and an Encouragement Award from the Licia Albanese Competition.