Carmen, by Antonio Gades and Carlos Saurathe immortal classic that continues to reinvent itself and excite the public generation after generation, will be in Madrid again. It will be in the iconic Umusic Albéniz Theaterwhere lovers of music, dance, flamenco and theater can enjoy it from May 8 to 18, 2025.
The Carmen of Gades and Saura is without a doubt a masterpiece that took flamenco beyond its rootsmaking it a universal theatrical genre. This bold and transformative production marked a milestone by fusing Bizet’s classical music with the intensity of live flamenco, redefining the narrative of European dance.
The figure of Carmen represents for Gades women’s struggle to achieve freedom from what is establishedthinks that she was misunderstood, since when the work was written, it was a scandal for the time, in which the emancipation of women could not yet be thought of. “I made Carmen because I didn’t like that stereotyped and false image that she has, being a woman who when she loves gives herself without reservation, who does not abandon her class even if she is in the highest spheres.”
It will not be by chance that the ballet character reflects two of the choreographer’s most characteristic vital attitudes: his class consciousness and his love of freedom.
Since its premiere, Carmen de Gades y Saura has received the highest praise from international critics, such as the New York Times: “A work that transcends time and borders. Flamenco, classical music and theater in perfect harmony” or The Figaro: “The show that elevated flamenco to the level of major international productions.”
150 years… and a great European tour
It has been performed continuously since its creation, on the most prestigious stages in the world.. In 2025, the tour commemorating the 150th anniversary of Bizet’s opera will include cities such as Modena, Parma, Jerez de la Frontera, Lille, Antwerp, Lyon, Strasbourg, Lausanne, Nancy, Nice, Marseille, Paris, Nantes, Cremona, Pamplona or Seville.
Since its creation, the Antonio Gades Company has been one of the great pillars of Spanish and Flamenco Dance. Based on the repertoire of the legendary choreographer Antonio Gades, it boasts a particular school defined by the Maestro, which differentiates it from the rest of Spanish formations. Currently, under the direction of Stella Arauzo, it mixes several generations of artists that make possible the direct transmission of the lines that characterize the Gadesian school: an aesthetic and refined language, at the same time rooted in the traditions and culture of the people. Spanish.