La Tragédie de Carmen is Brook’s adaptation of Georges Bizet’s opera, which itself is based on the original Prosper Mérimée novella. Brook reworked the script in collaboration with Academy Award-winning screenwriter Jean-Claude Carrière, offering a fresh perspective on the story. The original score was arranged for a chamber orchestra by Marius Constant, and the work premiered at Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord, Paris, in November 1981. In Katharina Kastening’s production at Buxton Opera House, she and designer Bettina John introduced a Brechtian dimension to emphasize themes of female stereotyping and the male gaze—particularly in opera and Carmen iself—creating a layered and thought-provoking interpretation of the classic work.
Conductor: Iwan Davies
Director: Katharina Kastening
Set & Costume Designer: Bettina John
Lighting Designer: D. M. Wood
Cast:
Carmen: Niamh O’Sullivan
Don José: Elgan Llŷr Thomas
Escamillo: Steffan Lloyd Owen
Micaëla: Erin Rossington
Zuniga / Lillas Pastia / Garcia: Cameron Cook
Photographs by Genevieve Girling
