Balletto di Milano's Carmen

One of the great things about the arts scene in Malta is that it is genuinely international, and in particular taps into two rich overseas scenes – the UK and Italy.

Balletto di Milano is one of Italy's foremost touring ballet companies and a leading ambassador of Italian dance abroad. Since its founding in 1998, it has become known for its vibrant staging and broad repertoire that spans classical and contemporary works. The company is especially praised for its charming, family-friendly La Cenerentola, which reimagines the Cinderella tale with expressive choreography and colourful production design. It is also celebrated for La Dolce Vita, a Fellini-inspired ballet that blends cinematic mood and Italian glamour with fluid, character-driven movement.

Balletto di Milano's production of Carmen is a bold, physically charged reimagining of Bizet's opera that confidently marries classical ballet with contemporary and flamenco-inflected movement. Choreographed by Federico Veratti, the piece reframes the familiar story of obsession, jealousy, and tragic fate as a visceral, modern-leaning dance-drama rather than a strictly traditional narrative ballet. This means whilst it is in the rich tradition of Manon and Boheme, operas danced as ballets, this production is strikingly different. Though as in those pieces, a knowledge of the original is helpful if not obligatory.

The production is described as physically demanding, requiring dancers to combine classical precision with athletic power and expressive rawness. This is definitely the case with the Toreador Escamillo, danced by Gianmarco Damiani. His performance was electric, and the whole show came to life as he leapt in the air. As in the opera, Don José danced with precision by Mattia Imperatore didn't stand a chance of hanging on to the slippery Carmen.

Carmen herself emerges as a magnetic, untamed figure, portrayed with both seductive allure and stubborn independence by Giusy Villarà. Her interactions with Don José and Escamillo are charged with palpable tension, underscoring the triangle of desire that drives the plot. The choreography gives the title character ample space for bravura solos and tightly wound partnering, so that her fatalism and fatal attraction are readable in gesture and weight as much as in facial expression. Giusy can act which is not true of every prima donna.

Veratti's choreography blends clean, lyrical lines with sharper, more grounded gestures, giving structure and rhythm to the opera's sumptuous score while allowing the cast to invest each step with emotional intensity. One new aspect he has added is the character of Fate, a muscly Alessandro Orlando. The result is a show that feels dynamic and urgent, with ensemble scenes in particular crackling with energy and tightly coordinated patterns.

The company deliberately mixes tradition and modernity, framing Bizet's music with a dance vocabulary that fuses classical ballet, contemporary movement, and flamenco-inspired articulation. This stylistic blend suits Carmen's themes well: the score's familiar melodies feel revitalized, while the choreography amplifies the opera's undercurrents of passion and danger. The staging is relatively stark, with giant CGI backdrops, relying on the dancers' to fill the visual space.

It is just sad that as often in the dance world performances were just one day. March 29th.