“Carmen. The Story of José” is a psychological stage drama about love, choice, and confronting one’s own past.

This is the story of two Josés. One is young, passionate, and experiences love as freedom itself. The other is the same man years later — trapped in timelessness, paying for a choice once made. The older José repeatedly encounters his younger self, watching him live through his story with Carmen, unable to stop what is unfolding.

But Carmen here is not simply a woman. She represents everything that love is made of: desire, attachment, and the fear of loss. Beside her always stands fate — not as an outside force, but as something that has already taken root within and now drives events forward.

Trying to interfere, to change the course of events and break the chain of inevitability, the older José ultimately takes a step toward himself. But can a person change something that has already become part of who they are? And where is the line between free choice and what feels inevitable?

Stage Director: Tural Mustafayev
Production Designer: Mustafa Mustafayev
Lighting Designer: Nikolai Rudychev
Composer: Anar Yusifov
Choreographer: Kamilla Aliyeva
Movement Direction: Elnur Ismayilzade
Assistant Director: Sevil Jalilova

Cast:
Carmen — Khadjar Agayeva
José Navarr — Fuad Osmanov
José Lissarabengoa — Murad Mamedov
Woman from the Tobacco Factory — Saida Velibekova
Lillias Pastya, Fate — Ilkin Mekhtiyev
Corregidors, Gypsies — Farid Huseynov, Rashad Aliyarov
Gypsy Women — Syama Valiyeva, Govhar Shahbanova, Dilyara Nazarova, Fidan Agaverdiyeva, Sabina Asim

Duration:
Act I — 1 hour 15 minutes
Act II — 50 minutes