“Her Carmen is a provocative minx, testing anything in trousers with her charms and discarding whoever falls short”
Carmen is set in southern Spain, telling the story of the downfall of Don José, a naïve soldier who is seduced by the wiles of the fiery gypsy Carmen. José abandons his childhood sweetheart and deserts from his military duties, yet loses Carmen's love to the glamorous torero Escamillo.
The depictions of proletarian life, immorality, and lawlessness, and the tragic death of the main character on stage, broke new ground in French opera and were highly controversial when first staged in 1875.
Act 1 - A Square in Seville
The people go about their daily business, watched by a group of bored soldiers. Micaëla, a young peasant girl, enquires after Don José, a corporal of the guard to whom she is devoted. José arrives with the new guard, and the firls from the cigar factor stroll out for their midday break. Carmen is a gypsy girl and the favourite of the soldiers. Her attention is quickly drawn to José, who ignores her, so as she leaves, Carmen throws a flower towards him.
As the square clears, Micaëla returns to find José alone. She has brought him a letter, a purse of money and a kiss from his mother, who clearly sees Micaëla as the ideal wife for her son - an opinion José is beginning to share, though not for long. There is a disturbance in the factory; Carmen has stabbed another girl, for which she is duly arrested. While Lieutenant Zuniga is completing the paperwork, he leaves Carmen in José’s custody. He is no match for the scheming Carmen. In return for her promised love, José allows her to escape, and is himself arrested and imprisoned.
Act 2 - Lillas Pastia’s tavern, one month Later
Carmen, Frasquita, Mercédès and other gypsy friends are entertaining the customers. Carmen’s latest admirer Zuniga is one of the customers. He tells Carmen that José has just been released from prison. The revellers are joined by Escamillo, the popular Toreador, who is immediately impressed by Carmen’s beauty.
When Escamillo leaves, the company disperses, and Carmen and her two friends greet the arrival of Dancairo and Remendado - fellow smugglers who have organised a little “venture” and who need the girls’ assistance. They want to leave immediately, but to their surprise Carmen refuses to go at once and her reason is even more perplexing - she is in love! Despite their entreaties, Carmen is adamant, and they must accept the inevitable delay, then they hear the voice of the approaching Don José.
His infatuation with Carmen is obvious, but to her disgust, he prepares to leave on hearing the bugle calling the troops back to the barracks. In response to her taunts, he produces the flower he has treasured during his imprisonment. Yet his sense of duty prevents him from agreeing to her persuasive argument that he should flee with her and join the gang of smugglers. At this point, Zuniga returns, hoping to find Carmen in a more receptive mood. The two men fight, and José now has no alternative but to desert and throw in his lot with Carmen and the smugglers’ band.
Act 3 - The Smugglers’ lair, some weeks later
The smugglers return to camp with their bales of contraband, and clearly the relationship between Carmen and José is strained. While Dancairo and Remendado go off to reconnoitre, Frasquita and Mercédès read the cards in expectation of good fortune. However, when Carmen joins them, she sees nothing but death in her cards.
Eventually the smugglers leave to complete their task, leaving José on guard. He does not see Micaëla who arrives shortly after, but he does not challenge another intruder - Escamillo, who is seeking Carmen. Their respective positions regarding Carmen are soon evident. They fight, and Escamillo is at José’s mercy when Carmen and the band return and her intervention saves his life.
When Escamillo leaves, Micaëla is discovered. She implores José to return with her, but he refuses despite a bitter exchange with Carmen who wants rid of him, until Micaëla tells him that his mother is dying. As they are about to leave, Escamillo’s triumphant song is heard in the distance.
Act 4 - Outside the bull-ring, a few days later
It is the day of the bull-fight. Crowds of people eagerly await the occasion, greeting and cheering the celebrities as they arrive, and especially the star attraction, Escamillo, who arrives with Carmen on his arm. As he leaves her to enter the bullring, Carmen is warned that José is lurking nearby, but being a fatalist, she does not shirk the enounter.
In vain, the dishevelled José pleads with Carmen to return to him. His pleadings turn to threats and when her final insult is to hurl at him the ring he has given her, he reaches breaking point. As the crowd in the bull-ring cheer Escamillo’s success, José plunges his knife into Carmen’s heart.
Cast
Cast
Carmen
Annabel van Griethuysen
Michaela
Alexandra Mather
Dancairo
Hamish Brown
Morales
Clive Goodhead
Don Jose
Andrew Powis
Frasquita
Helen Eckersall
Remendado
Alex Davidson
Lillias Pastia
James Wood
Escamillo
Ian Thompson-Smith
Mercedes
Rebecca Smith
Zuniga
Gareth Rees
Citizens
Chloe Crowder
Irene Hollett
Jane Reed
Janet Barrow
Hennifer Reed
Hudy Hodgkiss
Lorna Sheppard
Amanda Shackleton
Martin Sleeman
Nick Sephton
Steve Griffiths
Thea Jacobs
Trisha Campbell
Will Gausden
Soldiers
Anthony Gardner
Bill Read
Duncan Campbell
Own Williams
Paul Richardson
Peter Butler
Pierre-Alain van Griethuysen
Steve Bingham
Stephen Wilson
John Soper
Michael Foster
Mike Painter
Toreadors
Alguazil - Jon goodhead
John Traves
Barry Cowling
Ali Bennett
Matt Hollett
John Kennedy
David Pearson
Luke Preston
Keith Rowan
Children’s Chorus
Isla Astbury
Esther Borlase
Sophie Draper
Isabella Ellis
Estelle Ennis
Arabel Hardy
Lilly Harris
Zach Lea
Meredith Lomakin
Esther McGeehan
Isla Nicholl
Josie Popple
Beth Stanford
Ella Taylor
Lola-Pearl Taylor-Bolton
Toby Winn
Crew
Musical Director
Derek Chivers
Stage Director
Clive Marshall
Assistant Stage Director
Pierre-Alain van Griethuysen
Choreographers
Glen Jackson
Julio Garcia
Stage Set Design
John Soper
Set Production Manager
Paul Richardson
Set constructed and painted by
Bill Ankers
Tony Burton
John Soper
Peter Butler
Clive Marshall
Steve Bingham
Trisha Campbell
Pierre-Alain van Griethuysen
Alex Davison
Annabel van Griethuysen
Jennifer Jones
Hamish Brown
James Wood
Louisa Littler
Stage Manager
Carolyn Roper
Costume design and Coordination
Maggie Soper
Costume Construction
Maggie Soper
Sandra Rowan
Anna Day
Hannah Watson
Robin Walton
Properties
Sue Goodhead
Rosamond Jackson
Bill Ankers
Publicity Photographs
John Saunders
Carmen Synopsis
Bill Read
Makeup
Pat Mortimer
Programme
Trisha Campbell
Programme Photographs
John Saunders
Jennifer Jones
Social Media
Jennifer Jones
Repetiteurs
Tim Tozer
James Sanderson
Alasdair Jamieson
Les Bresnen
Children’s Chorus
Jane Woolgar
Front of House
Kathleen Shouksmith
Press
Review: York Opera in Carmen, York Theatre Royal, until Saturday
York Evening Press | Martin Dreyer | 24th October 2018
York Opera keep young talent Bizet in October production of Carmen
York Evening Press | Charles Hutchinson | 2nd October 2018
Wanted: one sword for York Opera's Carmen. Step forward Bill Ankers
York Evening Press | 10th September 2018
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