PROJECT DETAILS
CHOREOGRAPHER: Roman Mykyta
COMPOSER: Georges Bizet, arranged by Oleh Bezborodko
PREMIERE: August 21, 2021 | Lehighton Ukrainian Festival, Ukrainian Homestead of CEC ODWU, Inc, Lehighton, PA | Performed by Дух Танцю – Spirit of the Dance Ukrainian Folk Ballet with guest artists from The Ballet Theatre of Maryland
CAST: 3 Women, 2 Men
RUN TIME: 7 minutes
SYNOPSIS:
Carmen Paraphrase is a choreographic miniature inspired by Georges Bizet’s iconic opera and Prosper Mérimée’s original novella. Distilled into a seven-minute dramatic work, the piece captures the volatile triangle between Carmen, Don José, and the Toreador through passion, rivalry, seduction, and obsession.
Set to Oleh Bezborodko’s arrangement of Bizet’s most recognizable themes, the choreography presents the story as a concentrated character study rather than a full narrative retelling. Through stylized character dance and theatrical gesture, Carmen Paraphrase explores the tension between freedom and possession, desire and control, and the destructive consequences of love when it becomes obsession.
BIZET’S CARMEN
Based on Georges Bizet’s opera and Prosper Mérimée’s novella, Carmen remains one of the world’s most recognizable stories of passion, independence, and fatal attraction.
BACKGROUND & INSPIRATION
A MUSICAL PARAPHRASE
Ukrainian composer Oleh Bezborodko arranges Bizet’s melodies into a seamless seven-minute paraphrase, allowing the essence of the opera to unfold through a compact sequence of beloved musical moments.
CHARACTER AND OBSESSION
Rather than presenting the full opera, the choreography distills the drama into a stylized encounter between archetypes: Carmen’s freedom, Don José’s possessiveness, and the Toreador’s confidence.