Sun 14 Oct 2007 2:00PM - 5:10PM

A classic opera, much performed and interpreted, Carmen is the archetypal tragic love story. The version playing on Sky Arts this weekend features the Berlin State Opera Chorus and Orchestra, conducted by Daniel Barenboim, and is a lavish production featuring some of the world’s best opera singers. The press following the first recital by this cast said that the lead male (Mexican Rolando Vilazon) sung the part ‘as it hasn’t been sung in a long time’, and that his performance ‘alone makes it worth seeing’.

For those unfamiliar with the plot of the opera, Carmen is a young gypsy girl who is arrested and imprisoned. Her guard, Don José, falls in love and helps her escape at the cost of his own liberty. Upon release he joins Carmen’s smugglers but is called away to see his dying mother. When he returns, he finds that hi beloved is having an affair with a bullfighter, which drives him to kill her and throw himself on her body at the exact moment the toreador makes a kill in the ring. Powerful stuff and sure to make for an exciting performance.

If you have anything to say about this opera, add to the comments here.