Carmen: a woman ablaze with passion, surrounded by men possessed by obsession and jealousy. One of opera’s most well-known characters sets herself on a road to tragedy when she meets Don José, a corporal in the army searching for love. 

ENO favourite, Jamie Manton, returns to direct Calixto Bieito’s beloved opera production of Carmen, exploring the complex relationships between the sexes at the tail-end of Franco’s regime in the 1970s. Georges Bizet’s searing score features popular opera music like March of the Toreadors and Habanera, conducted by Kerem Hasan, who returns from the ENO’s 2022’s production of Cosí fan tutte.

Ginger Costa-Jackson plays the title role alongside Sean Panikkar, who returns to the role of Don José from the ENO’s 2020 Carmen production. Also returning to the ENO are audience favourites Nmon Ford (Escamillo), Matthew Durkan (Dancairo) and Keel Watson (Zuniga). The cast is rounded out by ENO Harewood Artists Benson Wilson, Alexandra Oomens and Innocent Masuku.