5 - Refashioning Carmen at the Théâtre de La Monnaie, 1902

Summary

In 1902, the Théâtre royal de la Monnaie presented a new Carmen in replacement of its original production of 1876. Though the Monnaie’s managers, Kufferath and Guidé, officially aimed at a ‘reconstruction’ (reconstitution) of Bizet’s classic, stage manager Charles De Beer radically updated the mise en scène through such naturalistic features as multiple-level platforms and asymmetrical, panoramic stage sets. An instant hit, the staging enjoyed revivals until 1949 and transferred to four other Belgian venues. This chapter seeks to explain that remarkable success. Focusing on the scenography by Albert Dubosq, the author first outlines the Belgian background against which the new version made its mark. Analytical observations on the 1902 Carmen are then drawn, not just from historical photographs and newspaper reviews, but also from life-size replicas of Dubosq’s flats and drops surviving in Courtray. The essay concludes by contradicting a tenacious master-narrative, according to which operatic staging became stagnant in the naturalistic era; instead, numerous innovations were introduced within a traditional, illusionistic framework.