Name: Recital of the Capell Virtuoso
Start: 2026-03-29T11:00:00
Location: Semperoper Dresden

Gautier Capuçon

Nikolaj Lugansky

Semperoper Dresden

Is Carmen’s gaze only to be compared with that of a wild animal? The French writer Prosper Mérimée explored this question in his novella Carmen, which was the basis for Georges Bizet’s (1838-1875) final opera, which premiered at the Opéra-Comique in Paris on 3 March 1875. Carmen’s air of seduction is both her weapon and her downfall, for in the end she dies at the hands of her jealous lover, Don José. Carmen refuses to be told what to do and certainly doesn’t want to be rescued by Don José in the shifting sands in front of the bullfighting arena. She prefers death to having her life decided by others. In the extremely popular and passionate “Habanera” aria, which is our first encounter with Carmen, she paints a picture of herself: “Love is a rebellious bird that none can tame.” Her indomitable desire for freedom is stamped in her DNA.

Carmen

Autier Capuçon has long since established himself as one of the leading cellists of his generation and regularly attracts attention with his recordings and concerts. Born in Chambéry in 1981, Capuçon began playing the cello at the age of five. He studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur in Paris with Philippe Muller and Annie Cochet-Zakine and then in Heinrich Schiff's master class in Vienna. The winner of numerous first prizes in international competitions, including the International André Navarra Prize, Capuçon was named Young Artist of the Year at the Victoires de la Musique in 2001 and received a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award in 2004. Since then, he has also received several ECHO Klassik awards, most recently for his recording of Fauré's complete chamber music.