Review: CARMEN at Her Majesty’s Theatre, Adelaide Festival Centre

Reviewed by Barry Lenny, Saturday 17th October 2026.

Georges Bizet’s (born Alexandre César Léopold Bizet, 25th October 1838 – 3rdJune 1875) final, and only really successful opera, Carmen, is full of passion, colour, and sexual politics. It was adapted from a novella by Prosper Mérimée, with the libretto written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, who had already written for a number of operas by Jacques Offenbach.The four-act opera premiered on 3rd March 1875 in Paris at the Opéra-Comique and, at the time of his early death after a series of heart attacks, just three months later, he thought that it was a failure. The reviews had been poor and the audiences were shocked by its controversial content, and unimpressed.

It has since become one of the most popular operas in the repertoire. Two other operas of his, The Pearl Fishers (Les pêcheurs de perles), and The Fair Maid of Perth (La jolie fille de Perth), were performed, but had limited initial success and have not achieved the status of Carmen. This is the fifth time that State Opera has staged Carmen, the first time in 1981, and I am fortunate enough to have seen every one. It is a sensational finale to the company’s Golden Jubilee year.

The synopsis can be stated briefly. It is 1825 in Seville. A young soldier, far from home, Don José, a corporal, falls for the flamboyant gypsy, Carmen, aiding her escape from being taken to prison after being arrested for attacking another woman with a knife, sent to prison for a month and demoted for his indiscretion, then deserting both his childhood love, Micaëla, and his military duties, to join Carmen and a band of smugglers. As time passes, their relationship cools and Carmen, who works at the cigar factory with her friends, Frasquita and Mercédès, falls for the charismatic toreador, Escamillo, and the jealous and devastated José kills her.

South Australian mezzo-soprano, Charlotte Kelso, appears in the titular role. It seems like only yesterday that a young ‘Charlie’ Kelso was beginning her career, her potential obvious from the start. That potential has been fully realised, evidenced in this superb performance. Kelso’s Carmen is sultry, her passion a slow burn occasionally flaring, her independence showing in her seductive playfulness leaving all the men in an emotional turmoil.

Tenor, Gerard Schneider, takes on the role of Don José, bringing out the inner conflicts and the descent into the tortured soul, obsessed with Carmen and rejected by her. José’s growing madness can be seen in Schneider’s face and demeanour, and heard in his voice, the broken man who has sacrificed everything for lost love clearly portrayed.

Soprano Cathy-Di Zhang plays a vibrant and animated Frasquita, and mezzo-soprano Fiona Mcardle plays the quieter, but still equally flirtatious Mercédès, the two close companions of Carmen. They provide strong support in their roles, and add a lighter moment as they consult the cards to divine their romantic futures.

Bass-baritone, Samuel Dale Johnson, displays a fine sense of self-assurance, bordering on arrogance as Escamillo, a man who knows that his success in the bullring brings him anything and everything he desires, as well as the admiration of all around him.

Soprano, Desiree Frahn, sings the role of Micaëla, the maiden from his home village who loves Don José, but is rejected by him. Her performance is wonderful, filled with emotion, shyness, and warmth.

Tenor, John Longmuir, plays Le Remendado, a smuggler, and baritone, Nicholas Lester, takes on the dual roles of the smuggler’s leader, Le Dancaïre, and Moralès, a corporal. They contribute fine support in these smaller but important roles.

Bass, Andrew Williams, sings the role of Zuniga, the unpleasantly overbearing Lieutenant, a sexual predator determined to have a liaison with Carmen, but whose advances she continually rejects and who eventually gets his brutal comeuppance at the hands of Don José.

Lillas Pastia, the innkeeper, a non-singing role, is handled neatly by Catherine Campbell.

The performance is conducted by the company’s Artistic Director, Dane Lam, who leads the orchestra and singers through the rich orchestration and vocal demands with great understanding. Director, Laura Hansford, has brought out convincing performances from her well-chosen cast, and has ensured each of the chorus has developed a distinct character, moving the crowd scenes deftly around the stage so that it never looks cramped.

Adelaide has two needs, a world-class state of the art concert hall, with adequate rehearsal spaces, and a second theatre with a large stage and full facilities, since the Adelaide Festival Theatre is always fully booked, relegating State Opera to the more cramped stage of Her Majesty’s Theatre. Our orchestra and opera company both deserve much better.

The impressive set and costume designs are by Ailsa Paterson, who cleverly recycled materials from past productions that would normally have been discarded, rather than send them to landfill and start from scratch. This is an initiative worth celebrating. It all begins in full colour but, as the story darkens, so does the visual aspect, colours becoming dull, and lighting subdued. Bernie Tan-Hayes and Mark Oakley are the lighting co-designers who have embraced the set design and the storyline in their thoughtful realisation of the lighting plot.

The always marvellous State Opera Chorus has plenty of opportunity to show why we are so lucky to have this group of excellent singers, and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra turns in yet another impeccable performance. There is nothing quite like a live performance.

Even people unfamiliar with opera will instantly recognise tunes like the Habanera (L'amour est un oiseau rebelle) and the Toreador Song (Votre toast, je peux vous le render). The whole opera is filled with memorable melodies that will stay with you long after the final curtain falls. Carmen is very approachable and a good choice as an introduction for new opera-goers. Be sure to get tickets, if it is not already sold out.

Photography, Andrew Beveridge, AsbCreative.

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