Carmen – The Flower Song (Jonas Kaufmann, The Royal Opera)

Find out more: Jonas Kaufmann as Don José sings the Flower Song ’La fleur que tu m’avais jetée’ with Anna Caterina Antonacci as Carmen in Act II of Francesca Zambello’s production of Georges Bizet’s opera Carmen, The Royal Opera, 2006. Carmen was based on a popular novella of the same name by Prosper Mérimée, which enticed French readers with exotic tales of Spain. Its heady combination of passion, sensuality and violence initially proved too much for the stage and Georges Bizet’s opera was a critical failure on its premiere in 1875. Bizet died shortly after, never learning of the spectacular success Carmen would achieve – it has been staged over 500 times at Covent Garden alone. Carmen contains many well-loved numbers, such as Carmen’s seductive Habanera and Escamillo’s rousing Toreador’s song, in which he celebrates the thrill of the bullfight. Richly coloured designs capture the sultry