Past Production Reviews
3Modern-set staging of the Georges Bizet classic stars Chrystal E Williams as a subtle and commanding lead
Why does Carmen make the choices she makes? That’s a question that the director Edward Dick seeks to answer in his new production of Bizet’s hit opera, marking the joyful return of Opera North to full stagings in Leeds Grand Theatre. It must be a relief to the company to open a production originally scheduled for January 2021, and again thrown into disarray only a week ago when a new Don José had to be cast after the singer Rafael Rojas fell prey to long Covid. So, the curtain finally rises on a smoky stage bathed in red light, a woman writhing with ostrich feather fans, the word “Girls” blown up in huge letters. Add the dancers with nipple tassels who appear in Lillas
