Carmen: Mazda Opera in the Domain

First published on 1 Dec 2010. Updated on 5 Apr 2011.

Carmen is Spanish for trouble. Israeli-born mezzo-soprano Rinat Shaham comes to the Sydney Opera House to fight with Teddy Tahu Rhodes as the bullfighter Escamillo. You can buy tickets to see this titanic match fully staged in the controlled environment of the Sydney Opera House, or pack a picnic and hear it free, semi-staged in the Domain on 29 January.

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Instant expert: Carmen

Plot

Carmen has one of the most romantic, salacious plots in the operatic repertoire. Carmen works at a cigarette factory, where she meets Don José, a soldier. Although smitten, he is forced to arrest her when she cuts another worker's face. He agrees to help her escape. She flirts with toreador Escamillo, but convinces Don José to join a band of smugglers. Bored with José, she and Escamillo become lovers. Distraught, José stabs her to death. No one lives happily ever after.

A most successful flop
When it premiered in Paris in 1875, critics rubbished the opera for its controversial and sentimental themes. During rehearsals, singers refused the lead, the orchestra declared it unplayable, and the theatre tried to have the ending changed. It premiered to deafening silence, and many of the singers found themselves unemployable afterwards. Bizet was completely distraught at the reaction, and died of a heart attack at age 36, just three months after its debut (on his wedding anniversary). He never got to see its enormous success.

Other composers loved it
Despite critical consensus that Carmen was "immoral", Wagner, Tchaikovsky, Debussy and Saint-Saëns all praised the piece, and Johan Brahams went to see it more than 20 times.

Horses for courses
First staged in Convent Garden, London in 2006, the current Opera Australia production has unusual cast members: two horses, Drummer and Jamieson, a donkey and some chickens. Jamieson was also the steed used by the Lone Rider during the opening of the 2000 Olympic games.

Girl on Film
Carmen has been filmed many times, most famously in 1984, with Plácido Domingo playing Don José. Opera Australia recently filmed a live performance featuring Catherine Carby, and beamed it live to eight cinemas around Australia; from Albany in Western Australia to Devonport in Tasmania.