The most passionate
story ever told —
reimagined as Vacaville's own.
Georges Bizet's Carmen has captivated the world since its 1875 premiere — a story of love, freedom, and fate so powerful it has never stopped being told. For Angela Arteritano, it is also deeply personal. She first encountered Carmen as a child growing up in Venezuela. The passion of the character, the boldness of the music, the defiance at its heart — all of it left a mark that never faded.
Decades later, as a Venezuelan American artist based in Vacaville, Angela brought her own version of Carmen to life. Not a recreation of the opera. An original flamenco ballet — the story told through the language she knows most intimately. Through the footwork and fire of flamenco dance, through costumes custom-made by artisans in Seville, Spain, through the unique character of Little Carmen — a child who embodies the innocence Carmen once had — the production honors both the timeless source material and the living tradition of flamenco itself.
"I started dreaming about what my own version of Carmen could be. Now, being able to merge my experience in flamenco dance with Bizet's masterpiece — it's like bringing one of my wildest dreams to life."
— Angela Arteritano, Daily Republic, September 2024Carmen is more than a production. It is Vacaville's annual celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month — presented each year at the Vacaville Performing Arts Theatre. Dates shift with the season and the venue, but the tradition holds. Every year, the community gathers. Every year, flamenco takes center stage in the city Angela calls home.
Now in its third year, Carmen continues to grow. The cast is intergenerational — students from the Arteritano Flamenco Training Program alongside seasoned performers. The community that fills those seats has come to expect it — not just as a performance, but as theirs.