Carmen – Canon Medical Arena, Sheffield

Composer: Georges Bizet

Director: Rosie Kat

Bizet’s Carmen is a dramatic opera full of passion, jealousy, and tragedy, originally set in 19th century Spain. The story centres on Carmen, a fiercely independent and seductive gypsy woman who works at a cigarette factory in Seville. She captivates Don José, a strait-laced soldier, pulling him away from his duty, his hometown sweetheart (Micaëla), and eventually turning him into a deserter.

As Don José becomes obsessed with Carmen, she quickly grows bored of him and turns her attention to Escamillo, a confident and charismatic bullfighter. Consumed by jealousy and unable to let her go, Don José confronts Carmen outside the bullring in the final act (set here outside a wrestling ring) where, after a heated exchange, he stabs and kills her.

It’s a powerful tale of love, freedom, obsession, and fate, known for its unforgettable music. This was a semi-staged production as part of the Classical Sheffield Weekend, featuring a chorus of community players from the Hallam Choral Society and youngsters from the Sheffield Music Hub.

A bold choice to stage Bizet’s fiery Carmen in the sleek, modern Canon Medical Arena, usually home to basketball and sporting events, and while the production didn’t quite sizzle with the intensity one might expect from this famously passionate opera, it still delivered vocally – thanks in no small part to its professional troupe of artists backed by the outstanding Sheffield Philharmonic Orchestra.

There’s no denying the energy of Carmen lies in its tension and heat, but this staging felt somewhat tame. The dramatic grit and raw sensuality were softened, leaving certain key moments feeling slightly undercooked. Sung here in English, some of the modern rewrites don’t quite land. However, what the production lacked in dramatic bite, it made up for in musical brilliance. The Sheffield Philharmonic Orchestra were musically on point, although the acoustics of this sporting venue made the sound feel somewhat muted and uninspiring. Carmen is packed with pulsing rhythms as Bizet treats us to the Habanera and the infamous Troubadour which are both musically iconic. The drama of these passionate songs coupled with the thrilling crescendos of the final act, seemed diluted in the vast space of the arena. The operatic brilliance and vocal agility of the performers did, in turn, bring a rich, emotional depth that the staging sometimes missed.

Overall, this was a polished, musically exquisite interpretation of Carmen, even if it played things a little too safe. It seems a lot of ground work has been necessary to create this updated version of the classic opera and whilst the vocals were exceptional, the production was just not quite as incendiary as one might of hoped. As a community theatre piece it really worked, as a ground breaking staging of a fiery Spanish Opera it did not.

Reviewed on 23rd March