Carmen

In a remote Spanish town, the free-spirited Carmen lives by her own rules and warns that any man she loves should beware. When she sets out to seduce the police officer Don José, he abandons his respectable career and the expectations of his mother and Micaëla, the woman who loves him, for a dangerous life with Carmen. But Carmen soon tires of Don José’s possessiveness and longs to reclaim her independence. Her attention turns to the celebrated toreador Escamillo, and Don José’s jealousy and despair move towards a violent eruption. Damiano Michieletto’s white-hot production sets Bizet’s passionate story under the oppressive heat of the Spanish sun, bringing its sensual melodies and explosive drama to the Royal Opera stage. Sesto Quatrini conducts Bizet’s score, including Carmen’s Habanera and Seguidilla, Don José’s tender Flower Song and Escamillo’s instantly recognisable Toreador Song. Sung in French with English surtitles, the production stars Ginger Costa-Jackson and Ramona Zaharia in the title role alongside Russell Thomas and Valentyn Dytiuk as Don José.