Last Updated on November 2, 2025
Smoke and Heat in the ENO’s Carmen
4.5 out of 5.0 starsBizet’s opera Carmen is a powerful presence in our cultural landscape, with melodies such as that of the habanera “L’amour est un oiseau rebelle” etched into the public’s consciousness. The gritty story combines groundbreaking operatic ‘verismo’ within the structural framework of the French ‘Opéra-Comique’, while being infused with the spirit of the Zarzuela, the Spanish musical theatre that helped define the country’s national identity. The opera inspired Carmen Jones, the 1954 African-American take on the story starring Dorothy Dandridge and Harry Belafonte, which in turn gave us Carmen: A Hip Hopera from 2001 with Beyoncé in the lead role. There was also Matthew Bourne’s sexy dance piece from 2000, The Car Man, that sets the story in an Italian-American-run garage in 1960s America.
The opera is in four acts, with the story taken from Prosper Mérimée’s novella, then turned into a libretto written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy. Premiered in 1875 at the Opéra-Comique in Paris and not immediately successful, Berlioz didn’t live long enough to see the opera become a central pillar of the repertoire. This fourth revival of the 2012 ENO production, originally directed by Catalan Calixto Bieito in Barcelona, has Jamie Manton at the helm in this co-production with Den Norske Opera and Ballet.
We are in early 1970s Spain, the dog days of the fascist regime of General Franco, when a militaristic machismo was central to national identity and women couldn’t vote or file for divorce. At the cultural centre of this society was the spectacle of the corrida, the bullfight, the ultimate codification of machismo and a constant shadowy presence in this production.
Set in the sultry heat of Seville, the opera’s narrative is constructed around the tragic love affair between Carmen, a gypsy, and Don José, a lower-ranking soldier. He is imprisoned for helping Carmen escape incarceration for her part in a fight. On his release, she convinces the naïve soldier to run off with her and join a band of smugglers. The other two main protagonists are Don José’s childhood sweetheart, Micaëla, an orphan who has been brought up by his mother and who acts as the maternal mouthpiece, and Escamillo, the local star bullfighter who has the hots for Carmen. She leaves Don José for Escamillo, and the inevitable tragedy ensues.
Alfons Flores’ set design is minimalist, utilising one or two elements to convey a sense of place and time. On the cavernous stage of the Coliseum, this was enough to give us a sense of dramatic context. A flagpole and telephone box represent the town square, a white chalk line is the bullring, and a shadowy giant wooden bull at the back of the stage collapses spectacularly, setting up the ultimate showdown between Carmen and Don Jose. But in a surprising maximalist reversal, five Mercedes sedans appear on stage simultaneously as the bearers of contraband for the gypsy smugglers.
Carmen is played by Irish mezzo-soprano Niamh O’Sullivan, who brings to the stage a sultry sexual threat alongside a seductive vocal huskiness. O’Sullivan has the self-confidence to own the character’s bloody-minded defiance and acceptance of her fate. Her take on the habanera “L’amour est un oiseau rebelle” was controlled and narrative-led, whilst she was more playful with the seguidilla “Près des remparts de Séville”.
Don José, the ultimate mummy’s boy, is sung by new star tenor John Findon. Physically imposing, Findon has made a name for himself playing a range of inadequate, discomforted characters; the Fool in The Royal Opera House’s Wozzeck, Mime in The Rheingold for the English National Opera and the naïve, hapless and socially inept younger brother Vašek in The Bartered Bride at Garsington. Findon’s voice is top-class, bursting with passion and power as in the Act 2 aria “La fleur que tu m’as jétée”.
The role of the bullfighter Escamillo is taken by American Cory McGee, making his UK and role debut. McGee seems totally at ease in the role, giving the character a coolness and sense of control as he toys with the bluster of Don José and accepts the fleeting nature of Carmen’s amours. McGee has a gorgeous bass-baritone warmth, and whilst he brings energy to the “Toreador Song”, his voice is sometimes overwhelmed by the orchestra.
Irish Harewood Artist Ava Dodd brings her glorious lyric soprano to the part of the pious Micaëla. Dodd is almost too pretty for the part, with her sparkling top register matching her top and shoes; the costuming lacks the character’s traditional dowdiness. No matter! With a voice that glistens in her duet “Parle-moi de ma mère!” with Don José and the two voices blending beautifully, Dodd should have a fine career ahead of her singing Mozartian leads.
There is plenty of quality in the supporting roles. Hong-Kong-born British bass-baritone Freddie Tong made for an appealingly evil Zuniga. British-Irish baritone Jolyon Loy, an immature and entitled Tarquinius in The Royal Opera House’s The Rape of Lucretia, was excellent as the bullying soldier Morales. Harriet Eyley and Sian Griffiths were appealing and engaging as Carmen’s gypsy friends Frasquita and Mercedes, decked in Costume Designer Mercè Paloma’s take on ruffles and hot pants. British-Irish baritone Patrick Alexander Keefe brought his rich vocal timbre to the part of the gypsy Dancairo, and the excellent Welsh tenor Osian Wyn Bowen, as his sidekick Remendado, displayed the brusqueness recently seen in his discombobulated Baron Ripafratta in Salieri’s La Locandiera to the character.
Italian conductor Clelia Cafiero, following her ENO debut in La bohème in 2024, led from the front, bringing a precision and expressivity to the score from the joyous bounce of the overture onwards. Her sense of control was clearly relished by the wonderful ENO band, who played out of their skins for her. The huge ENO chorus also sounded splendid and was a constant source of kinetic energy, bustling around, fighting and dancing as if their lives and, more realistically, their livelihoods depended on it. The children’s chorus from Marlborough Primary School was bursting with verve, enthusiasm and sweetness. It was a delight to see them so engaged.
This is an excellent Carmen with little to fault. Musically, it’s first-class, with a dramatically enthralling production that foregrounds the overheated emotional journeys of the protagonists rather than relying on more traditional imagery and costumes. It’s the perfect first opera for someone who isn’t prudish or very young. We must support the ENO. They are doing good work!
English National Opera,
London Coliseum,
St Martin’s Lane,
London WC2N 4ES
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