The Faces of Carmen

Eight Carmens in a single year. Aigul Akhmetshina steps onto Europe's major stages, each entrance demanding a different woman. Now 28, the mezzo-soprano first sang the role at the Royal Opera House at 21. Over the year this film follows, directors at Glyndebourne, Arena di Verona, and the Vienna State Opera rebuild Carmen in rehearsal. A gesture expands, then tightens. One night, a crowded arena. The next, a bare room. Each time, she starts again. "The world's reigning Carmen," wrote The New York Times. What we see is the toll of becoming her, over and over.