Organization

Admin

Opera South East

Stage director

Eleanor Strutt

Conductor

Kenneth Roberts

Set designer

Kath Keep

Lighting designer

Singer

Mezzo-soprano

Deirdre Arratoon

Carmen

Tenor

Matthew Clark

Don José

Baritone

Jon Openshaw

Escamillo

Soprano

Helen Bailey

Michaela

Bass

Oscar Smith

Zuniga

Joe Edmunds

Dancaire

Kristian Thorkildsen

Remendado

Rebecca Hughes

Mercedes

Rebecca Mitchell

Frasquita

Will O'Brien

Morales

Orchestra

Sussex Concert Orchestra

Others

Opera South East Chorus

English

Hastings

United Kingdom

White Rock Theatre

Carmen Bizet

Public

Samrat Sen

Approved

Passion turns to jealousy. Hope turns to despair. Order turns to anarchy. Beneath the blazing sun a bull is slaughtered for sport, as outside the arena a woman lies dead, murdered by her jealous lover.

Desire and brutality dance hand in hand in this spectacular full-scale production. With its dramatic plot and thrilling score, Carmen is probably the most popular opera in the world. 

Carmen: a woman ablaze with passion, surrounded by men possessed by obsession and jealousy, sets herself on a road to tragedy when she meets Don José, who is searching for a purpose in life.

Director Eleanor Strutt brings a modern sensibility to this production which is set in 1820s Seville. Our Carmen is a woman who transcends her circumstances – she is passionate about taking control of her life and her choices. Carmen’s music is unpredictable, challenging and captivating, so too is her character.

When the cards predict her impending death, she recognises that her fate is bound to Don José’s, and yet she seeks to confront him outside the bullring. Carmen makes no attempt to escape; it is as if she is hurrying along her fate, choosing her moment to die, staying in command to the end.

So, while Don José is unhinged and carrying a knife, does he actually murder her? Or does Carmen manipulate him to fulfil the cards’ prediction? And by doing so, does she also set up his death knowing that he will be executed for her murder? In the end, neither can survive without the other. This is a love that cannot be tamed.
Directed by Eleanor Strutt, and conducted by Kenneth Roberts who was joined by the Sussex Concert Orchestra in the pit for this wonderful feast of music and drama, and of course the chorus of Opera South East singing on stage, with Principal performers as below...

It’s a poignant year for Kenneth Roberts who conducts his final piece for Opera South East before he retires as our conductor and musical director later this year.

Carmen by Bizet, From (2023/2023), Directed by Eleanor Strutt,, Conductor Kenneth Roberts, White Rock Theatre, Hastings, United Kingdom

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

Cast

Crew

Ensemble

Program, About & Synopsis

Photos

Further reading

Performance Dates & Venues

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