In Stephan Märki's interpretation, Carmen is a woman longing for death, staging sex as a weapon in a world where seduction means strength, but devotion means downfall. Love and Death are embodied by a dancer who mirrors Carmen's thoughts and emotions. Conductor Mario Venzago draws upon the "Carmen" research by musicologist Fritz Oeser, who restores Bizet's original version, giving the piece new depth and new life to the well-known arias. Philipp Fürhofer's stage design sets the singers in a mirror cabinet, creating a mise en abyme of perspectives and allusions.