Carmen, G. Bizet’s most popular opera was the first major production of the team. In fact, Oper(O) were the first to take opera
out on the streets with one complete work. Their idea was to use the proximity of the singer and the freedom of the spectators to challenge the prejudices
surrounding the genre. A well-known, timeless, accessible to the spectator and very intense story provided the chance to experiment with the opera form.
With a ground-breaking perspective yet remaining faithful to the libretto of Meilhac and L. Halévy, Oper(O) performed a new version of the work based on
the variety of emotions and the dramatic features of the characters. The project premiered in the Pyrgos square of the island of Tinos and then toured Greece.
It was performed in unlikely and diverse sites, including Attikon Alsos Theatre, (Athens Festival September 2009), Kapnikarea square,
(International Street Theatre Festival, Athens October 2009), in schools, squares and industrial sites (Monemvasia Castle, August 2009).
Bizet might have even smiled content to see his Carmen performed in the street […] Oper(O) stripped
Carmen naked of her gypsy clichés, turning her into a contemporary, woman next-door… […] Carmen was punk.
Eleftherotypia «7», 25.10.2009
Without microphones, with action taking place in the alleys among the crowd, they set up a magical spectacle without advertising
and big budgets. They did it with impeccable taste, self-sacrifice, gusto and tenacity. The result was beyond any expectation […] Six hundred spectators, standing,
leaning over balconies, cramped in chairs wouldn’t as much as breathe. Most of them locals, had never seen opera before in their lives[…] In the end, the applause
was liberating as everyone sensed that art can entail the kind of energy that can be communicated to everyone indiscriminately […] They made us hope.
M. Pournana, Kathimerini, Provoles 29.07.2008
…We might have associated opera with large ladies and boasting tenors but this fresh team dared to change our mind.
Athens Voice, 15.04.2010
