Carnegie Hall

 

(NEW YORK, NY; June 24, 2025)—Carnegie Hall+—Carnegie Hall’s video streaming channel—is thrilled to announce that it will present its first-ever free outdoor film screening this summer, inviting music lovers to enjoy an open-air viewing of Franco Zeffirelli’s epic production of Bizet’s Carmen from Arena di Verona with acclaimed mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča in the title role on Sunday, August 3 at 5:00 p.m. in New York City’s Bryant Park.

This spectacular performance—filmed in Verona, Italy’s famed 2,000-year-old Roman amphitheater in 2022—will be screened as part of the Hall’s free Carnegie Hall Citywide concert series. Directed by Tiziano Mancini and conducted by Marco Armiliato, the production also features tenor Brian Jagde as Don José, baritone Claudio Sgura as Escamillo, and soprano Maria Teresa Leva as Micaëla.  
 

 

This special free screening—made possible in part through a partnership with Fondazione Arena di Verona and Unitel—celebrates the 150th anniversary of this landmark opera which tells the story of a headstrong young woman of Seville whose passionate but ultimately destructive affair with a soldier, Don José, turns tragic as her affections shift to the bullfighter Escamillo. Considered one of the most popular operas of all time, it includes a host of recognizable arias, including Carmen’s fiery “Habanera” and Escamillo’s tender “Toreador Song.”

About Carnegie Hall Citywide

For more than 50 years, Carnegie Hall Citywide has brought an electrifying mix of free performances to venues throughout New York City. Presented in collaboration with esteemed community organizations, the celebrated series features artists of all genres—classical, jazz, Latin music, and beyond—in performances across the city’s five boroughs.

As part of its summer 2025 lineup, Carnegie Hall Citywide continues its collaboration with Bryant Park Picnic Performances presenting five additional free concerts in the park on Fridays in July and August. The vibrant lineup features innovative music collective The Knights featuring bandoneon soloist Julien Labro (July 11); award-winning salsa dura band La Excelencia (July 18); three-time Grammy Award-winning jazz vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant (July 25); visionary pianist and composer Orrin Evans and the Grammy Award–nominated Captain Black Big Band (August 1); and acclaimed singer-songwriter, top 8 finalist on NBC’s The Voice, and star of Broadway's Maybe Happy Ending, Dez Duron (August 8).

More About Carnegie Hall+

Carnegie Hall+ is a premium subscription video-on-demand channel, providing unprecedented access to extraordinary performances by internationally celebrated artists from the most renowned stages around the globe, available as an add-on subscription on the Apple TV app, Prime Video Channels, Spectrum, Xfinity, Xumo, Verizon Fios, Cox, DISH, Sling TV, and Astound.

With programming curated by Carnegie Hall, the channel includes an extensive collection of new and historic full-length classical music concerts, operas, dance, documentaries, artist profiles, and family and holiday programs, inviting viewers to create an at-home journey of musical discovery—wherever they may be.

Launched in 2021, Carnegie Hall+ was created through a partnership between Carnegie Hall and Unitel, the world’s leading classical music audiovisual producer and distributor. Presentations featured on the channel are selected by Carnegie Hall from Unitel’s stellar catalog, one of the largest of its kind in the world. The premium channel is aligned with Carnegie Hall’s mission to bring the transformative power of music to the widest possible audience.

“Carnegie Hall+ opens a window to viewers to some of the world’s most thrilling artists and arts venues, representing the best in performing arts programming” said Clive Gillinson, Carnegie Hall’s Executive and Artistic Director. “When watching the channel, subscribers can journey to the Salzburg Festival in Austria, the BBC Proms in London, or watch the Vienna Philharmonic perform in the Golden Hall of the Musikverein in Vienna, plus much more. Hundreds of hours of programming have been specially curated with all arts lovers—from casual viewers to aficionados—in mind, all at an affordable price.”

For more information about Carnegie Hall+—including a browsable catalogue of current programming—please visit carnegiehallplus.com.

More About Italy’s Arena di Verona

The Arena di Verona Opera Festival is one of the world’s most iconic open-air opera events, held annually in the heart of Verona, Italy. Founded in 1913 to celebrate the centenary of composer Giuseppe Verdi’s birth, the festival began with a legendary performance of Aida in the city’s ancient Roman amphitheater, the Arena di Verona, which dates back to the first century AD. Since then, it has become the centerpiece of Verona’s cultural calendar, drawing millions of opera lovers and tourists from across the globe each summer.

The Arena itself—renowned for its remarkable acoustics and dramatic setting—transforms into a grand stage under the stars, hosting up to 12,000 audience members per evening. Each season, the festival, organized since 1913 by the Fondazione Arena di Verona, features a stellar lineup of international opera stars and presents large-scale productions of beloved operas alongside symphonic concerts and special events.

For more information, please visit arena.it

Program Information
Carnegie Hall Citywide:
Bizet’s Carmen on Screen

Sunday, August 3 at 5:00 p.m.
(lawn opens at 3:00 p.m.)

Bryant Park
Between 40th and 42nd Streets and Fifth and Sixth Avenues | Manhattan

Carnegie Hall+ presents its first-ever free outdoor film screening in Bryant Park with Bizet’s Carmen—a spectacular open-air viewing in celebration of the opera’s 150th anniversary. Filmed at Italy’s famed Arena di Verona, Franco Zeffirelli’s legendary production features Elīna Garanča as the headstrong young woman from Seville. Considered one of the most popular operas of all time, Carmen includes a host of recognizable arias, including Carmen’s fiery “Habanera” and Escamillo’s tender “Toreador Song.” Conducted by Marco Armiliato, the acclaimed production also features Brian Jagde, Claudio Sgura, and Maria Teresa Leva. Directed by Tiziano Mancini, it is a co-production of UNITEL, ZDF, and 3sat, in cooperation with Fondazione Arena di Verona.

This event is free.

Lead support for Carnegie Hall Citywide is provided by the Howard Gilman Foundation and the Hearst Foundations.

Additional support provided by Northwell Health, Official Healthcare Partner of Carnegie Hall.

Media support for this special event is provided by WQXR.