I was fortunate to go and see Opera North's production of Georges Bizet's famous opera 'Carmen' at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham, on a trip with my course. This was my first experience of watching an opera in-person at a theatre, and it was very interesting to see how that compared to other genres of theatre and live performance. Though this show is renowned and well-loved in the opera world and some of the famous score I had heard in other contexts, this was my first time experiencing the story of Carmen, which was exciting. It was also lovely to watch this, at a time when theatre has taken such a serious knock from covid.
Carmen is originally set in and around Seville, Spain, in the early 1800s. It tells the story of corporal Don Jose and his dangerous obsession with gypsy Carmen, which causes him to leave his respectable job and wife Micaela, to join Carmen and the smugglers that she is associated with. This updated interpretation of a story of passion, love and jealousy keeps these themes very much in the forefront, but turns the rugged spanish landscape into a bold, seductive nightclub in the 1960s. Colin Richmond's set designs certainly create an impact on stage, especially the large light up letters upstage spelling 'GIRLS'. There were also comedic elements to the set, such as matador Escamillo's "bull", which in this version is the rear end of a mechanical bucking bull.
Alongside Richmond's set, Laura Hopkins's costume designs reflect 1960s fashion, which meant lots of bright colours, shift dresses and patterned shirts. The designs were bold and fun, and created a version of Carmen that was very stylised, which I rather enjoyed.
Overall, for my first opera, the designs were colourful and eye-catching, which interestingly was juxtaposed with a somewhat tragic tale.
(Production photographs by © Tristram Kenton)
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