Carmen by Prosper Mérimée

Description

Before Carmen became a famous opera character, she was the heroine of a novella: In Prosper Mérimée's Carmen, we encounter a passionate, freedom-loving, and unpredictable woman - and a story of desire, jealousy, and deadly passion. The reading at the Kleintheater Trouvaille in St. Gallen takes us back to this literary origin. Selected passages from Mérimée's novella, read by Matthias Flückiger, are musically framed by Gabriel Meyer on guitar, who atmospherically captures and expands the text. This creates an intimate encounter with Carmen, offering a different perspective on the well-known material: more immediate, darker, and closer to Mérimée's original narrative. As a supporting program and complement to the opera production "Carmen à la carte, Miracle" by the opera troupe Oper vor Ort in the Cantonal Council Hall of St. Gallen (from October 24 to November 7, 2026), the reading is also understood as a literary addition and an invitation to hear the famous story anew - and to hear Carmen beyond the opera stage.