James Lawton
Bullfighting arena, Seville 2
The bullfighting arena in Sevilla, Spain. I believe the formal name is Plaza de Toros de Seville. Desite my love of Spain I’ve never gotten into bullfighting. This site is interesting to me as the bullfighting ring of Seville due to the opera Carmen. Carmen is set in Seville and much of the action has to do with Carmen’s love of both a young soldier and a famous bullfighter with the climax taking place just outside the arena. Some of the famous music is below. My understanding is that the set directions call for a plaza before an ancient amphitheatre. In my small knowledge of Seville, coupled with some brief research, there is no ancient amphitheare within old Seville. There are ruins of a Roman amphitheatre on the north west edge of the modern city, but no plaza. It’s likely Bizet simply made it up. The imaginative thought though, standing just ouside the arena, is enough.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmen