Carmen

Moved by the Motion takes on the famous tragedy Carmen. Originally written by Prosper Mérimée and transformed into one of the most iconic operas of all time by Georges Bizet, Carmen’s tale has been adapted in numerous ways, inspiring popular culture and remaining in the collective consciousness through its controversy. Carmen is a rebellious bird, a wanderer, a hustler, a factory worker, a polylingual, shape-shifting lover, stateless and ungovernable.

In collaboration with writers Sophia Al-Maria and Fred Moten, Moved by the Motion digs through the many layers of Carmen’s legacy while taking the canonical source material further. Bizet’s original score weaves together with musical interventions by composers Andrew Yee and Asma Maroof to create a hybrid opera-theatre piece. Working seamlessly with language, movement, image and song, Moved by the Motion forms a genre-bending adaptation that reinterprets the themes that Carmen embodies: love, loss and liberation.

Press quotes

"This is grand theater." NZZ

"Thunderous applause for a queer Carmen. (...) Fantastic, stunning, touching: mezzo-soprano Katia Ledoux as Carmen." Tages-Anzeiger

"The singing, the orchestra under the direction of Jonathan Palmer Lakeland and, last but not least, Andrew Yee's magnificent, thoroughly eccentric composition based on the Bizet opera were truly reason enough for the loud cheers and standing ovations at the premiere." Tages-Anzeiger