Carmen and Carmen
A project by filmmaker and performance artist Wu Tsang
In Carmen and Carmen award winning filmmaker and performance artist Wu Tsang explores the myth of one of the most portrayed characters in Western culture.
The story of Carmen, the title character from the iconic opera by Georges Bizet, has been told and retold over the past 150 years. Habanera, the aria in which she sings about the untamable nature of love, is a song everyone has heard, even those who have never set foot in an opera house.
Why is Carmen’s story so enduring? Wu Tsang explores the myth of Carmen. Written as the archetype of the femme fatale, Carmen embodies an exotic woman with an enchanting effect on men, ultimately to be killed by one of her admirers. Racial stereotypes and misogyny abound in this modern tale of a seductive working class woman who corrupts an innocent young soldier.
In the multichannel sound and film installation La gran mentira de la muerte Wu Tsang examines the themes of the famous opera set in Seville through the performative fields of flamenco and bullfighting. Why are audiences and artists alike continuously fascinated with the murder of this woman?
Complete programme
21 Dec / 12 Jan, 11.00 / 18.00: La gran mentira de la muerte (free entrance)
21 Dec, 15.00: Film screening: Carmen Troubles
21 Dec, 17.00: Talk: The myth of Carmen and Romani feminism
21 Dec, 17.30: Film screening: Latcho Drom
21 Dec, 20.00: Talk: Carmen in motion, with Wu Tsang and Sophia Al-Maria
22 Dec, 13.00: Film screening: Carmen y la libertad
22 Dec, 15.00: Talk: Carmen, the degenerate genres
Wu Tsang (1982) is a filmmaker and performance artist. Her work has been presented at museums, biennials, and film festivals internationally. Last summer, Wu Tsang’s opera adaptation of Carmen (in collaboration with Moved by the Motion) was presented at the Holland Festival.
This programme is a partner project of Hartwig Art Foundation.
Wu Tsang is one of the most interesting artists of her generation. Whether as a filmmaker, visual artist, or theatre director, Wu Tsang is drawn to the untold and marginalized stories that lie beneath the mainstream. With Carmen, she once again delves into a beloved classic and elevates it to surprising new height.
Beatrix Ruf, director Hartwig Art Foundation
In converation with Wu Tsang and artist and writer Sophia Al-Maria who together worked on the innovative Carmen opera that was presented by the Holland Festival last year.
Lawyer and feminist Pastora Filigrana will focus on the image of the gypsy women in the Carmen story and speak about Romani feminism.
Wu Tsang has curated several films that have inspired her work on Carmen. Today we screen the television episode Carmen y la libertad (1996).
