Teresa Berganza's Reappropriation of Carmen

This article analyses the approach of the distinguished Spanish mezzo-soprano, Teresa Berganza, to the role of Carmen since her debut in the role at the Edinburgh Festival in August 1977. Over the past thirty years Berganza, as a singer and a teacher, has developed an interpretation of the role, both in terms of vocal technique and interpretation, which has brought Carmen back to a much more identifiably Spanish cultural context. Berganza’s assumption of the role coincided with the introduction of the original opéra comique version of Carmen to the mainstream. This article looks at the genesis and impact of Berganza’s contribution and the way in which the present generation is dealing with the, now mainstream, opéra comique text