Carmen now. Kar-Men group (Sergey Lemokh)

ACTION ONE

On the town square in Seville, near a cigar factory, there is a sentry post. Soldiers, street boys, cigar factory workers with their lovers flicker through the lively crowd. Carmen appears. Temperamental and courageous, she is used to dominating everyone. Meeting the dragoon Jose awakens passion in her. Her habanera - a song of free love - sounds like a challenge to Jose, and a flower thrown at his feet promises love. The arrival of Jose's bride, Michaela, makes him forget about the impudent gypsy for a while. He recalls his native village, home, mother, indulges in bright dreams. And again Carmen breaks the calm. This time, she turns out to be the culprit of a quarrel in the factory, and Jose must take her to prison. But the gypsy's spell is omnipotent. Subdued by them, Jose violates the order and helps Carmen escape.

ACT TWO

At the Lilas Pastya tavern, the fun is in full swing. It is a secret meeting place for smugglers, assisted by Carmen. Together with her friends, Frasquita and Mercedes, she has fun here. The welcome guest of the tavern is the bullfighter Escamillo. He is always cheerful, confident and courageous. His life is full of anxieties, the struggle in the arena is dangerous, but the reward for the hero is sweet - the glory and love of beauties. It gets dark. Visitors leave the tavern. Under cover of night, smugglers gather on a risky trade. This time Carmen refuses to go with them. She is waiting for Jose. The sergeant arrives, but the joy of their meeting is short-lived. The War Horn summons the Dragoon to the barracks. In his soul, passion fights duty. A quarrel breaks out between the lovers. Zuniga suddenly appears - Jose's boss. He hopes for Carmen's favor. In a fit of jealousy, Jose uncovers his saber. The military oath was broken, the path to return to the barracks was cut off. Jose stays with Carmen.

ACTION THREE

In the dead of night, in the mountains, the smugglers made a halt. Carmen and Jose are with them. But the quarrel in the tavern is not forgotten. The difference between lovers is too great. Dreaming of a quiet life, the peasant Jose suffers from betrayal of duty, from homesickness. Only a passionate love for Carmen keeps him in the smugglers' camp. But Carmen no longer loves him, we cannot avoid the gap between them. Will the cards tell her something? She predicted happiness to her friends, but fate does not promise Carmen herself: she read her death sentence in the cards. With deep sorrow she reflects on the future. Suddenly Escamillo comes - he is in a hurry to meet with Carmen. Jose blocks his path. Jealousy and resentment flare up in his soul. Carmen stops the fight of the opponents. At this moment, Jose notices Michaela, who, overcoming her fear, came to the smugglers' camp to take Jose away. But he does not heed her words. Only the news of the fatal illness of his mother makes Jose leave Carmen. But their meeting is ahead ...

ACTION FOUR

A bright sunny day. The square in Seville is full of people. The audience is eagerly awaiting the start of the bullfight. They greet noisily and joyfully the procession of the heroes of the bullfight, led by everyone's favorite Escamillo. Carmen greets him. She is attracted to the cheerful, courageous Escamillo. Frasquita and Mercedes warn Carmen of the impending danger: Jose is watching her relentlessly, but Carmen does not listen to them, she rushes to the bullfight. Jose stops her. Gently, with love, he addresses his beloved. But Carmen is relentless: it's all over between them. “I was born free - and I will die free,” she proudly throws in Jose's face. In a fit of anger, he stabs Carmen. By death, she claims her freedom.

Carmen, the meaning of whose name is “the blessed Madonna of Mount Carmel”, does not in any way coincide with the image of a pure and immaculate virgin. A gypsy woman who has earned her living by cheating since childhood easily seduces men without thinking about the consequences. And even realizing the imminent disaster, the beauty is not ready to retreat. The desire for profit is too strong in the girl's heart.

History of creation

The author of the short story about the rebellious beauty is a French writer. The first thoughts about writing a novella, in which human tragedy and the life of the Spanish people were intertwined, visited the author of "Carmen" in Spain. The man spent a year and a half in a sunny country and deeply studied the customs and habits of the local population.

The work “Gypsies” also influenced Merimee's inspiration. Since childhood, the French writer studied Russian, so he easily translated the creation of the poet. The man was especially impressed by the sincerity and love of freedom of the characters in the work.

In 1845 the short story was presented to the public, and in 1875 the premiere of the opera Carmen took place, the composer of which took place.

Both the opera and the short story did not make a positive impression on critics. But it was the devastating reviews that appeared in the newspapers that attracted the public. The piece of music filled the stage, bringing Bizet incredible popularity. At the same time, the literary source of the opera went unnoticed by many of Merimee's contemporaries.

"Carmen"

The reliable biography of the gypsy Carmencita is known from the moment the girl appeared in the city of Seville. The beauty worked in a tobacco factory, where, in addition to the heroine, another 400 women rolled cigars. However, unlike the rest of the workers, Carmen did not make friends, as she had an explosive character and a sharp tongue.

“Her skin, though immaculately smooth, closely resembled copper in color. Her eyes were slanted, but wonderfully carved; the lips were a little full, but beautifully outlined, and behind them were teeth, whiter than peeled tonsils. Her hair, perhaps a little coarse, was black, with a blue tide, like a raven's wing, long and shiny. "

Opera "Carmen"

Once a skirmish with a factory worker reached a stabbing - Carmen, offended by a cruel joke, slashed the face of a woman she knew. Due to the seriousness of the wounds, the authorities decide to send the gypsy woman to prison, and they trust José Lisarrabengoa to accompany the arrested woman.

The young man, who was not impressed by the first meeting with Carmen, started a conversation with the girl. The troublemaker told an inexperienced soldier that she was born in Etchalar, from where the gypsies took her away. A single mother remained in the homeland of the beauty, and the girl worked in a factory to save money for the trip home.

During a sincere conversation, the seducer persuaded Jose to help her escape. The girl pushed a new acquaintance in the chest, and while he pretended to lose his balance, disappeared from sight. Despite her daring nature, Carmen did not forget her assistant. Upon learning that Jose was in prison due to complicity in the escape, the gypsy sent the man bread, in which she hid the file and money. However, the soldier did not take advantage of the help provided so kindly.

The next meeting of the young people took place at the colonel's house, where Jose was sent after being demoted from the officers. A company of gypsies came to entertain the military guests. And among the noisy camp, Jose made out the charming Carmen.

Already leaving the holiday, the beauty made a date with the soldier in a whisper. As soon as Jose arrived at the meeting place, Carmen took the man who had already fallen in love for a walk. Wandering the streets, the gypsy with childlike spontaneity spent all her boyfriend's money, after which she took Jose to the old house, where the couple spent a day and a half in unrestrained fun and amorous amusements.

Soon Carmencita herself saw the man out. In a fit of revelation, the girl asked Jose not to remember her anymore, because such a relationship would end badly for the young man. Alas, the soldier was already too in love to think about the future.

For some time, Carmen disappeared from the city, and attempts to find her beloved did not lead to anything. Jose's new meeting with the gypsy took place next to the breach in the wall through which the smugglers were passing.

For her help in transporting illegal goods, Carmen promised the man in love one more passionate night, and Jose, tormented by remorse, gave up. The gypsy, whose disposition was notable for inconstancy, tormented the soldier for a long time. The girl alternately swore her love, then chased her lover away.

A tragic turn of history was the collision of Jose with a rival. Carmen, who did not know about the arrival of her lover, brought her new boyfriend to a love meeting. The jealousy scene ended in murder. After bandaging the wounds, the cunning seducer invited Jose to join her team. The girl described to the former soldier all the charm of a smuggling life, and he once again believed the beauty.

Now the other side of Carmen was revealed to José. The girl worked in a gang as a spy and did the job better than men. The beauty became more affectionate with her lover, but carefully concealed her own attitude towards a man with other smugglers. However, there was an explanation for this behavior.

Carmen has long connected life with another. And while Jose was making money, the woman seduced the prison doctor to rescue her husband, who was under lock and key. But the cunning gypsy did not plan to re-commit herself to the gypsy who opposed her.

Illustration for the novel "Carmen"

The woman freed her husband only to pull off a couple of thefts and get rid of the unwanted man. For these purposes, Carmen moved to Gibraltar, citing gypsy affairs. A true master of reincarnation, the gypsy passed herself off as an aristocrat and turned the head of an English officer, who was assigned the role of bait.

The only one whom the beauty dedicated to her own plan is Jose. Indeed, without the help of the faithful spineless assistant, Carmencita would not have coped. The plan went even better than the woman had planned. Jose did not wait for an opportunity and killed the gypsy's husband himself.

Now Carmen was free of any obligation. But the movement of the beauty was limited by a former soldier, who decided that now he had all the rights to the beauty. This attitude annoys the extravagant Carmen.

In Granada, a gypsy woman met a picador named Lucas. The constant quarrels between the two irreconcilable lovers only heated up the atmosphere. Carmen, accustomed to acting contrary to others in everything, became more and more fond of Lucas. Driven to despair, Jose made a last attempt to improve relations with his beloved, but the stubborn gypsy stood her ground: she no longer loves the former soldier and is not going to live with him.

Realizing that such words only bring her death closer, Carmen does not back down. Cruelty breeds cruelty. Jose, who was tired of fighting for the attention of his beloved, stabbed the beauty with a knife from his former rival.

Screen adaptations

Italian director Gerolamo Lo Savio was one of the first to transfer the Spanish history of passion to television screens. In 1909, the black-and-white film Carmen premiered, starring actress Vittoria Lepanto.

A year later, the Americans presented their own adaptation of the novel. The film "The Cigarette Girl from Seville" was a reworked novel by Merimee. The role of the cynical and cruel Carmen went to Madame Pilar-Morin.

In 1959, the musical film Carmen of Ronda was released. The film was created in two versions: French and Spanish. The first version differs from the original in several added scenes. The main role was played by an actress and singer. The artist independently performed the songs that the gypsy sings in the frame.

In 1989, at the Venice Film Festival, the French director presented his own vision of the image of Carmen. Name: Carmen is a fusion of Merimee's novella and the musical Carmen Jones. The role of the gypsy was played by Maruška Detmers.

Another crime drama "Carmen" was released in 2003. The plot of the film is developing in modern Russia. The tape is a free interpretation of a classic piece. The image of the criminal, nicknamed Carmen, was embodied by the actress.

Quotes

"You see that I am a gypsy: do you want me to tell you fortunes?"

"The dog will always find food on the go."

“I'm paying my debts! I'm paying my debts! This is the law of the kales! "

“You know, son, it seems to me that I love you a little. But this is not for long. "

Kar-Man

biography
date added: 29.07.2008

This wonderful group was founded by Sergei Lemokh and Bogdan Titomir, who met while working in the dance group of the popular artist Vladimir Maltsev in the late eighties of the last century. Since both dreamed of creating their own project, it was decided to collaborate with each other.

Thus, in the fall of 1989 their duet "Kar-Man" appeared. Friends decided to work in the genre of popular music, rather strongly flavored with exotic elements. In particular, their first studio album was named "Around the World" and was stylized as a kind of musical journey around the world. The disc includes such hits as "London, Goodbye", "Paris, Paris" and "Chio-Chio-San".

The group very quickly became very popular and famous. They even started recording their second album, which it was decided to call "Kar-Mania". But it was at this peak of fame that one of the members of the duet, Bogdan Titomir, left the team to start a solo career. And Sergei Lemokh is left alone.

However, Sergei does not despair. The already recorded (and no less powerful than the first work of the group) album "Kar-Mania" is being released. Since all the rights to use the name of the group remain with him, Lemokh is recruiting new talented musicians and dancers. And he starts performing together with them, remaining the team leader.

One of the best compositions of the second album is the track "Bad russians". Moreover, a good video is even filmed for him, which only increases the popularity of the group. In 1991 the team even became the owner of the very prestigious Ovation Prize, and won a number of prestigious competitions, such as Shlyager-90, 50x50 and Star Rain. At the same time, Lemokh tries himself as an independent songwriter from the group. The first experience of cooperation is working with N. Gulkina, for whom he writes a number of successful tracks: "China", "You Only Have to Dream", "Ivanhoe", "Goodbye Forever" ...

Until 1993, the group did not write new records, but the team released a collection of the best songs. Among which there are also three new compositions - "Chao, bambino", "Is it love" and "Dancing in laser smoke". Moreover, "Chao, Bambino" turns out to be a real hit, and soon an equally talented and bright video was shot on it. The group is at the peak of its popularity, and at this time "Kar-man" tours a lot throughout Russia.

In addition to performing on stage, Sergei Lemokh began to devote a lot of energy to non-pop projects. In particular, he participated in the game "Marathon 15 - Start", recorded part of the soundtrack for the animated film "Captain Pronin" and even starred in advertisements for such well-known companies as "Hitec" and "B.O.Y."

In 1994, the group delights their fans with new records. And not one album, but two at once. This is how the records "Russian massed sound aggression" and "Live ..." hit the shelves. Such compositions as "Angel of love", "Soyuz-Apollo", and "This is Сar-Man" quickly occupy the leading lines in the leading charts of Russia. The song "Hotel California" turns out to be very unusual and talented. The famous work of the Eagles team, presented as a dance remix, is greeted by the audience very warmly ...

After the release of the above-mentioned albums, the Kar-Men collective goes on a kind of vacation for a while. True, Lemokh also collaborates with a number of Russian pop stars, in particular with N. Senchukova, Lika, Lada Dance, S. Vladimirskaya, V. Nechitailo, and I. Siliverstov. But after, until 1996, it becomes difficult to get at least some information about the team. No concerts, no recordings ...

True, by 1996 the team is still coming out of hibernation. And even presents to fans a new disc called "Your Sexy Thing". A distinctive feature of the album is a large number of slow compositions, which are very different from the early work of the group. Resumes the collective and live performances, attending such festivals as "Voice of Asia", "Slavianski Bazaar", and "Tavrian Games".

After a successful tour of Germany and the USA, the group returns to Russia. Where he gets a chance to participate in a very interesting event "Surprise from Pugacheva". As part of this project, the collective rewrites the famous song of Alla Borisovna called "Robinson". In particular, he creates a stunning remix of it in the style of "disco".

In 1997, Sergei Lemokh thinks about a solo project, thereby founding the group "Polaris". True, work continues on the repertoire of "Kar-man" - already in 1999 a new disc is released - "King of the Disc". And soon another album appears, though coolly received by the fans, since it consists entirely of remixes of the already famous songs of the team.

After another period of calm, a kind of revival of the collective took place only after 2001. In connection with the tenth anniversary of the Kar-Men group, its members decided to create an anniversary concert program from old and new hits. The first premiere of this festive project took place during a tour of Germany. But after that Sergei Lemokh brought the program to Russia, where a very large-scale tour all over the country took place under the name "Kar-Men - 10 Years". Signifying thus the temporary return of the musicians to the "big" show business ...

Founded in 1989 group "Carmen" gained popularity at such a rate that within a few months the whole country knew this name. It was the first male duet in the USSR who performed their own songs, and prepared a choreographic performance for each of them. Sergei Lemokh and Bogdan Titomir became idols of hundreds of thousands of listeners, but in the spring of 1991 the duo broke up, and each of the performers took up a solo career. There were several versions of the reasons for the disagreement.

Sergei Lemokh and Bogdan Titomir in the late 1980s. worked as a dancer with the singer Vladimir Maltsev. It was he who first performed the song "Paris, Paris" written by Lemokh, which soon became the hallmark of the "Carmen" group. The "Exotic Pop Duo" began their performances with this name, and in 1990 changed it to "Kar-Man" ("Man-Machine") - thus they "went to meet the wishes of the listeners, obscuring the initial reminder of the insidious Spanish the rival of today's young seductresses. "

The performers themselves interpreted the name of the group as "driver" or "traveler", which corresponded to the concept of the project: the first album was called "Around the World", and each song was dedicated to a specific country or city. Later Sergey Lemokh said about the reasons for choosing this name: “I don’t know what legends there may be, our team is named after the long-range fighter,“ road man ”, and“ CarMan ”is the American slang name for the long-range fighter.”

Their popularity was gaining incredible momentum, within six months after the founding of the group, she collected stadiums throughout the country, cassettes with pirated recordings were sold out like hot cakes, and then copied on home tape recorders. In 1990, the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper conducted a poll, following which the Kar-Man group became the winner in two nominations: Discovery of the Year and Group of the Year. In the same year the group received the "Shlyager-90" award, and in 1991 it received several more awards: "50x50", "Star Rain" and "Ovation".

In 1991 Bogdan Titomir unexpectedly left the project and took up solo activities. As it turned out, the Gala Records record company offered the Kar-Man group a contract with serious obligations for 10 years in advance, which Lemokh signed, and Titomir refused to sign. The second album called "Kar-Mania" was released without the participation of Titomir.

Later, Titomir admitted that in the last months of the group's existence he did not communicate with Lemokh at all, they even came to concerts in different cars, and then decided to stop working together altogether. Titomir believes that this happened due to different views on music: Lemokh wanted to make the second album similar to the first, and he already wrote other songs, which he soon presented in a solo performance - "Do as I do", "High" and " Nonsense". Sergei Minaev said: "Lemokh was much more interesting and musical, but Bogdan felt the fashion and the whole conjuncture better." They also said that the reason for the collapse was that both performers were real leaders, and each of them wanted to be in the first roles in the team. For the past 20 years, Bogdan Titomir and Sergei Lemokh have not seen each other and do not communicate.

Sergey Lemokh continued his performances under the Kar-Men brand, with which he tours to this day. In addition, he recorded the soundtrack for the animated series "Captain Pronin", created musical screensavers for television programs, worked as a composer with other artists (Natalia Senchukova, Lada Dance, Natalia Gulkina).

The fact that the Kar-Man group is still gathering halls, Lemokh explains with its music that does not lose its relevance: “A mixed audience comes to us: both adults who remember the 1990s and young people who know what we do in electro "; as well as his own image: “A pop artist should take care of himself, because the stage and pop music, in particular, sells sex. For a man, these are regular exercises in the gym, physical activity, healthy sleep, a healthy lifestyle, I will not reveal anything new to you. People in Russia after 40 for some reason cease to take care of themselves, in vain, but the West has recently been very beneficial to us in this regard. "

In the late 1980s - early 1990s. no less popular was

The CARMEN group was conceived as an "exotic-pop duet" by Sergei Lemokh and Bogdan Titomir, who at that time worked as dancers for pop singer Vladimir Maltsev.
Sergei Lemokh graduated from the Moscow Institute of Soviet Trade in 1988. The duo instantly became popular. The musicians worked in the style of a "movie travel club", as evidenced by the title of their first album "Around the World", which included such songs as "London, Goodbye", "Paris", "Chio-Cio-San". At the very beginning of 1991 "Kar-Man" celebrated the anniversary of its existence, and in April 1991 the exotic-pop duet "Kar-Man" broke up. Sergei Lemokh, retaining the rights to the name and recruiting musicians, a group of dancers, continued to experiment in the exotic-pop style. Already without Titomir, a second album called "Kar-Mania" was released. "Kar-Man" won first places in the competitions "Shlyager-90", "50 × 50" (1991), "Star Rain" (1991). In the same 1991 she was awarded the national prize "Ovation" in the nomination "pop group". In 1991, Lemokh wrote music for several songs by N. Gulkina "China", "You Only Have to Dream", "Ivanhoe", "Goodbye Forever".
In 1994, two albums "Russian massed sound aggression" and "Live ..." were released. All songs of the group were written by Sergey Lemokh. Many of them took leading positions in various charts: "Angel of love", "Soyuz-Apollo", "This is Сar-Man", "Hotel California". The video clips for the songs "Chao, Bambino", "Bad Russians" and others enjoyed great popularity. In 1994, Lemokh wrote the music of N. Senchukova for the song "You are not Don Juan". He also recorded together with Lika, Lada Dance, S. Vladimirskaya, V. Nechitailo, I. Siliverstov the song "Children of the Moon". Between 1994 and 1996, a contract was signed with Kar-Man in Germany, where the English-language album "This is Car-Man" was recorded. At the end of 1996, the long-awaited album "Your Sexy Thing" was released, which was simply full of slow songs. In 1996, the team celebrated its fifth anniversary (as a solo project of Sergei Lemokh), the release of the new disc "Your Sexy Thing" was timed to coincide with it. The group toured Germany, the USA, participated in the festivals "Voice of Asia" (1996), "Slavianski Bazaar", "Tavrian Games" (1997). In 1997 "Kar-Man" took part in the project "Surprise from Pugacheva", having recorded a remix of the song "Robinson".In honor of the 10th anniversary of Kar-Man, a large-scale tour of the country was organized, which will last about a year. At the performances Lemokh performs new songs that will be included in the new album - "The Martian", "Tochka, Dash", "Singapore". In March 2001, the second disc from the Legends of Russian Disco cycle was released. You can order the Carmen group to perform for a holiday or invite Sergei Lemokh to participate in the concert on the official website of the vipartist. To find out the conditions for inviting the Carmen group to your event, call the phones posted on the official website of the concert agent. Information about the fee and the concert schedule of the performance will be given to you so that you can invite the Kar-men group to an event or order a performance of the Kar-men group for an anniversary or a party. The rider of the group will be sent at your request. Please, specify in advance and book free dates for the performance of the Kar-men group.