Carmen has been around the world and back countless times – and still dazzles.
First performed by the Opéra-Comique in Paris in 1875, Georges Bizet’s exploration of love, jealousy and gender is a timeless masterpiece that has moved audiences around the globe ever since. Carmen is an opera from France, set in Seville, with a Romany protagonist that is performed everywhere in the world, often in translation.
An international opera
HSBC, the hero partner of Opera Australia, has a presence in 57 markets around the world, and is well suited to bring arguably the most international of operas to Australian audiences. The bank says its partnership with Opera Australia reflects its commitment to bringing world-class art to audiences around the world.
This production of Carmen fits the bill, with world-class talent on its roster. Enter leading lady, Danielle de Niese, the first of four performers playing Carmen during the season. Born in Australia to parents with Sri Lankan, Dutch and Scottish heritage, de Niese has achieved much over the past three decades. She won an Emmy at 16, made her debut at the Met in New York at 19, and her soaring vocals have lit up screens and stages globally.
Now she plays one of opera’s most famous femmes fatales, alongside a cast with Mexican, Spanish, South Korean, Tunisian and Ukrainian pedigrees.
De Niese made her debut as Carmen in Opera Australia’s new production in July at the Sydney Opera House. The show opens at Melbourne’s Regent Theatre in November, where De Niese will share the role with Sian Sharp. Opera Australia’s reboot transplants Carmen into present-day Seville using maximalist staging, striking costumes and the power of music to update Bizet’s masterpiece for today’s audiences.
Photo credit: Keith Saunders.
A rich and storied past
Opera Australia has a long and cherished history with Carmen. The opera was first performed by the Elizabethan Theatre Trust Opera Company (now Opera Australia) in 1958, just two years after the company was established. Directed by the Australian theatre legend John Sumner, the production played at Her Majesty’s Theatre in Brisbane, the Elizabethan Theatre in Sydney and Her Majesty’s Theatre in Melbourne, but was critiqued as “Hollywoodish”.
In 1995 Lindy Hume won critics back to Carmen, bringing her feminist view of the story to Opera Australia; her narrative focused on Carmen being controlled by the men in her life. The direction was lauded by critics for how it honoured the score and libretto.
Each interpretation of Carmen, across the world and in Australia, has brought a new lens to the universal themes of the story: jealousy, freedom and fate. Carmen endures into the 21st century thanks to these relatable storylines, which continue to compel audiences worldwide. Yet while the love interest of Don Jose and Escamillo is known by opera lovers as the ultimate femme fatale, de Niese, and the new production’s director, Anne-Louise Sarks, were not interested in perpetuating stereotypes, ticking boxes or painting a colour-by-numbers Carmen.
“We didn’t want to deal in broad strokes and we didn’t want to deal in tropes and cliches,” de Niese says. “When you have a popular piece like Carmen, it’s easy to slide into familiar treads filled with all these previous interpretations and impressions.”
Yet it is precisely these past iterations – and the precedent they set for adapting and evolving Carmen – that have paved the way for the Carmens of the present, giving a new cast and director the freedom to reimagine the tale.
The conductor of Opera Australia’s production, Lidiya Yankovskaya, says: “Carmen is an opera that has a true wealth of storytelling and cultural richness that could transcend all boundaries internationally.
“Because Carmen is a work that is so adaptable to any context, with every production you have an opportunity to rediscover the piece.”
A world of opportunity
For the French-born violinist and Opera Australia concertmaster Matthieu Arama, performing Carmen evokes core memories, and reminds him of the power of music and opera.
“The first time I played Carmen was in Paris Opéra back in 1998,” he says. “I was 18 years old and it was my first appearance in the pit of Bastille as well as the first pit appearance of my life … I’ve also played Carmen Fantasy from Sarasate accompanied by piano or orchestra in Europe, US and even Mexico.”
Playing the role of Carmen at the Opera House has all the signs of becoming a core memory for de Niese. Not only did it mark a return to the venue where she made her Opera Australia debut (The Merry Widow, New Year’s Eve 2017), but playing and redefining one of the artform’s best known female characters has helped bring a new generation of operagoers to the table.
“It was great to see lots of young fans at Carmen,” says de Niese of the Sydney shows. “One of the things that young people are realising is that things aren’t black and white. They understand, intrinsically, that it’s OK to be your individual self in all its nuance and variety.”
Culturally curious operagoers, old and young alike, will rejoice that nuance and variety are intrinsic not only to Opera Australia’s interpretation of Carmen but to the entire 2026 lineup presented by the company, from beloved classics to dazzling new works. HSBC Premier customers can claim a 20% discount on mainstage season operas and a 10% discount on musicals throughout Opera Australia’s 2026 season.
Carmen runs from 15-25 November at Regent Theatre, Melbourne.
