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 production, exploring the complex relationships between the sexes at the tail-end of Franco’s regime in the 1970s, with Bizet’s searing score, featuring popular opera songs like March of the Toreadors and Habanera, conducted by Kerem Hasan, returning from 2022’s production of Cosí fan tutte.