Carmen may just be the world’s most popular opera. It’s only the third to join the ranks of works performed six times in Nashville Opera’s history (alongside Madame Butterfly and La Bohème). Carmen opens the door to a season of delights, including their ninth world premiere and a company premiere on the same double-bill, a high-seas Gilbert & Sullivan romp for the entire family, and the long-awaited return of Donizetti’s bel canto masterpiece, Lucia: The Bride of Lammermoor.
You have two opportunities to fall prey to Carmen’s wiles: 7:30 PM Thursday, September 26 and Saturday, September 28 in TPAC’s Jackson Hall. Will you be there? Resistance is futile. Carmen by Bizet is considered by many to be the most popular opera ever written. Think of Carmen as the perfect red rose. She’s captivating and beautiful, both to hold and behold. She’s the perfect trophy for anyone to love. Ah, but so many thorns…
Don Jose, a young soldier, has his life planned out. He’ll have a solid career in the military; he’ll marry his hometown sweetheart…everything in order. But then he meets…Carmen, the free-spirited, passionate girl, in a work teeming with excitement, emotion, and desire. Bizet’s stunning and beautiful music paints the days of desert heat, and the nights of fiery passion with an all-consuming fever that cannot be ignored. Note: Carmen is sung in French with projected English lyrics.
This Fall, Nashville Ballet entwines the spellbinding allure of Paul Vasterling’s Dracula with the elegance of George Balanchine’s Serenade for a double bill that transcends the ordinary. Delve into the dark, passionate world of Dracula, a ballet rich in love, lust, and eternal desire, set against a backdrop of Gothic mystery. Dracula will captivate audiences with its tale of immortal yearning.
In contrast, George Balanchine’s Serenade is a serene masterpiece, a testament to the beauty of classical ballet, danced to Tchaikovsky’s haunting Serenade for Strings in C3 played live by The Nashville Symphony. This double feature promises an unforgettable blend of a thrilling narrative and exquisite dance in TPAC’s Polk Theater, this production contains mature content intended for adult audiences, with depictions of violence and nudity. Performances are Thursday, October 3; Friday, October 4; and Saturday, October 5, at 7:30 p.m.; and Saturday, October 5, and Sunday, October 6, at 2 p.m.
Friends Life Community presents Threads of Power, Friday, September 27, at 6:30 PM in TPAC’s Polk Theater The creators of this devised theatre production, artists with disabilities, lead the audience through an authentic, vulnerable journey of self-discovery and acceptance. As the audience leans into these personal stories, they quickly realize that the experience is not unique to the performers, they have crafted an experience that speaks the universal language of the human experience.
The collaboration of artistic modalities, including dance, improvisation, visual arts, sounding, film, and storytelling will speak to each individual through multiple senses and is supported by Shabaz Ujima, Thea Jones, and dancers from Shackled Feet DANCE! and over ten local organizations. Audience members will experience the push and pull of competing powers, both internal and external, and will leave the theatre with a greater sense of self and more in tune with the threads of power that tie us all together.
