Theatre News

Paul Mescal and Melissa Berrera to star in Carmen film with songs by Moonlight composer

The classic is getting a modernised iteration with the ”Normal People” star attached

Carmen and Melissa Berrera
Carmen and Melissa Berrera
© Right: CB24, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Normal People star Paul Mescal will join Melissa Barrera (set to play Vanessa in In The Heights) in a new film version of classic opera Carmen.

According to Variety, the actor will replace Jamie Dornan in the upcoming version of Georges Bizet's Carmen, which has been shifted to the present day.

Directed by Benjamin Millepied (who choreographed Black Swan), the piece has tunes by Oscar-nominated music composer Nicholas Britell (Moonlight), who is set to create nine new songs alongside Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Julieta Venegas, and Taura Stinson (Mudbound). The soundtrack will be released alongside the film.

The film is set to begin shooting in Australia in January, and will also feature Spanish actor Rossy de Palma. A release date is to be revealed. The adaptation is penned by Millepied, Oscar-winning screenwriter Alexander Dinelaris Jr (Birdman) and Loic Barrère.

Mescal shot to stardom with a break-out role in the adaptation of Sally Rooney's hit novel, and his vocal prowess was brought to public attention recently when a clip of him singing The Phantom of the Opera was released online.

There were rumblings that he was being courted by Phantom composer Andrew Lloyd Webber to play Prince Charming in Lloyd Webber's new Cinderella musical, though this may be less feasible if Mescal is down in Australia making Carmen.

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You can watch a clip of Mescal in action here: