CARMEN Opens This April At Arsht Center

Carmen as you’ve never seen it before is coming to South Florida this April in a bold and emotionally charged new production, conceived and directed by French-born Maria Todaro.

Presented by Florida Grand Opera at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami and the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale, this production reimagines Bizet’s masterpiece against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War in 1937. Here, Carmen becomes more than a mesmerizing woman—she is a freedom fighter. This production also marks the 150th anniversary of Georges Bizet’s death, with Carmen standing as his final and most celebrated work. 

Todaro’s Carmen is a tribute to the beauty, intelligence, and resilience of women. Her interpretation goes beyond the opera’s traditional depictions, celebrating a young yet profoundly complex Carmen—one whose fiery spirit and unyielding independence captivate audiences. This Carmen is a survivor, a revolutionary, and a woman who refuses to be defined by the men around her.

“When Carmen talks about her freedom, it’s not just about her body,” says Todaro. “Without changing a word of the text and being very respectful to the score, we are deepening the motivations of the characters by presenting them in this context.”
By setting the opera during the Spanish Civil War, Todaro’s Carmen highlights the fight for personal and political freedom, making the opera’s themes of love, power, and rebellion more relevant than ever.

For Todaro, Carmen is more than an opera—it is part of her heritage. Born in France to legendary opera singers José Todaro and Maria-Helena de Oliveira, she grew up immersed in Bizet’s world. Her mother, a celebrated Brazilian mezzo-soprano, performed the role of Carmen over 250 times, making history as the youngest to ever debut in the role at La Monnaie in Brussels at just 21 years old. Her father, José Todaro, frequently portrayed Don José, and their shared performances led to their engagement while performing Carmen together in Brussels. Todaro herself first performed the role of Carmen before shifting into directing productions of Carmen.

The production will be conducted by Spanish Conductor Ramón Tebar who is currently Principal Conductor and Artistic Director of Opera Naples and Artistic Director of Spain’s Arantzazu Festival. The cast is world class including:

The creative team behind this production is a dynamic group of artists whose collective vision brings depth, authenticity, and cinematic flair to the stage. In addition to directing, Todaro collaborated with Costume Designer Camilla Haith to create a visual aesthetic that evokes the grit and urgency of the Spanish Civil War while remaining true to the period. Choreographer Rosa Mercedes infuses the production with powerful physicality, complemented by Brittany Rappise’s expressive wig and makeup design and Robert Wierzel’s evocative lighting, which together enhance the atmospheric world on stage. The set was designed by the late Scenic Designer Allen Charles Klein (1938–2023), the only American designer to have dedicated his entire career exclusively to opera production design.

PERFORMANCE DATES & TICKETS

Miami: Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts – April 12, 13,15

Fort Lauderdale: Broward Center for the Performing Arts – April 24, 26