Educator's Guide to the Opera Look-In
GEORGES BIZET
Carmen Look-In Guide
Washington National Opera is thrilled to welcome you and your students to the Opera Look-In: Carmen. The performance will be an exciting experience and provoke great discussions in and outside the classroom. The teacher and student guides are designed to provide general background and cultural information on Carmen and to help bring the opera into context. Both guides are divided into music and cultural topic areas with prompting questions to start the conversation.
Morality Issues
The Role of Dishonor and its Effect on the Community Dishonor affects each community differently. For Carmen, simply being a Gypsy was seen as being anti-Christian and therefore immoral. In 19th century Europe, people were expected to conduct themselves with dignity and make decisions based on logic, reason, and ethics. Carmen, on the other hand acted, on instincts. Women in the 19th century were expected to be submissive, reserved, polite, and proper. Carmen was provocative, free-spirited, alluring, and rebellious. By striving to be free and being part of the Gypsy culture, Carmen was seen as a poor example of what a woman should really be. Questions to consider about Carmen • How did Carmen’s desire for freedom affect her moral decisions? • Was Carmen correct to value freedom above everything? • Are Carmen’s ideas of freedom dangerous and are they different from contemporary ideals of freedom? • If Carmen was to drop by for a visit today, do you think she would be welcomed or do you think people would still be cautious around her? Questions to consider about Don José • Are Don José’s impulsive actions justified? • What is the importance of thinking before you act? • If your students could talk with Don José, what advice should they share with him?
Role of Prophesies: How Carmen Saw Her Death
While many people fear death, Carmen accepted her fate. She so strongly believed in card readings that she felt her fate was sealed as soon as her fortune was told. She could not accept Don José’s possessiveness, declaring before she dies, “I was born free and free I shall die!” While she felt her death was predetermined, she also felt she was dying for freedom.