She is free, she refuses codes, not an aggressive rebellion but a legitimate desire to be as free as men. Describing Carmen as a femme fatale, bewitching and haunting, magician (witch?), As a violent seductress, it's a big mistake. She wants nothing less than the same place given to men. Unfortunately, the male ego and society do not allow it, and she will pay for it with her life. Unbearable freedom to be. To go further and understand Bizet's score, ACT-O offers a portrait of Reinhild Hoffmann and a focus on three vocal stars.

Bizet's Carmen takes the stage of the Opera of the Nations, under the leadership of Reinhild Hoffmann, a great figure in the German Tanztheater choreographic movement. She signs the staging and scenography of this new production presented from 10 to 27 September. If, unfortunately, the reader has the opportunity to enjoy a curtain-raiser at the Opera des Nations, he will be able to watch Carmen offline through the means of RTS TV and thanks to the precious support of our partner, the REYL bank.

Initially resounding failure - several performances in front of an empty Comic Opera - source of sorrow for Bizet, Carmen is now the 3rd most played opera in the world, behind La Traviata and Die Zauberflöte. How to explain such success? A fascinating side, the other folkloric, a drama from beginning to end, but with light moments ... the romance Don José - Carmen turns into a love triangle with the entry of the bullfighter Escamillo.

Expressive elegance So we could describe Reinhild Hoffmann, in his work as his gesture. At home, everything is explicit, clear but also graceful and elegant. A gesture of simple appearance is a lot of work, preparation and repetition. An English word explains it well: effortless, in appearance. The dancers of the Ballet du Grand Théâtre remember this: in October 2017, Reinhild Hoffmann worked with them Callas, a piece as an elegant and expressive succession of paintings around the diva. In reality, the parable of the cycle of a life - that of everyone - between birth, emergence, glory and twilight. A pupil of Kurt Jooss, founder of the Tanztheater approach, she relays her vision across Europe, first as director of companies, then as choreographer and director. This vision consists of more actively mixing dance and acting, the performer is an actor and dancer, which broadens the context of theatrical or choreographic writing. Its means are often few, simple but worked so very effective. She does not sign choreographies, but plays. With Johann Kresnik, Gerhard Bohner, Pina Bausch and Susanne Linke, she took part in this great movement and in 1978 took the direction of Bremer Tanztheater and Theater Bochum.

Initially a choreographer, Reinhild Hoffmann also works as director, notably Don Giovanni, Tristan und Isolde, Salome, Dialogues des Carmélites and Iphigénie en Tauride. His look on Carmen? "It's first of all a call to freedom, of a woman who just wants to live as she sees fit. And yet she will pay the price. The score of Bizet, the libretto of Meilhac and Halevy, she perceives them as lighter and more joyful than the news of Prosper Merimee. And yet, the end remains tragic, violent and unjust. His most important sentence? "Dog and wolf do not always get along well", as a way of asserting that Don José and Carmen can not get along. See you at the Opera des Nations to make your own opinion.