Carmen

A seductive tale of betrayal and obsession

Johan Inger’s award-winning production of Carmen is an exhilarating journey that thrusts Georges Bizet’s 19th-century opera into the modern world with a breathtaking display of athleticism and passion.

View performance times

Canberra / Ngambri
20 – 25 June 2025
Content Advisory
Carmen contains adult themes and is recommended for audiences 16+

Duration
1 hour and 44 minutes / 1 Interval

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Carmen 1200x16002 — Principal Artist Jill Ogai

Photo Simon Eeles

Carmen 800x11203 — Principal Artists Jill Ogai and Marcus Morelli
Photo Simon Eeles

★★★★★
Johan Inger’s Carmen is yet another triumph for The Australian Ballet
- Limelight

★★★★½
Bodily gesture, emotion and staging find incredible synergy
- ArtsHub

Created in 2015, Inger’s contemporary retelling of Prosper Mérimée’s 1845 novella is a darkly compelling story of the dangerously seductive Carmen, whose love affair with Don José ends in brutal tragedy. Broadening its gaze beyond its fiery heroine, Inger’s Carmen is seen through the eyes of a boy bewildered by the ugly manifestations of machismo.

Using Georges Bizet's famous score, Inger has reimagined the classic opera, transporting it to dance in a fascinating production. Including sublime passages for soloists and duos and ensemble sequences of consummate virtuosity, Carmen brings you the heat of southern Spain in a powerfully unique production.

David Hallberg's insight

"Johan's vision for this famous story is really unique. What I love is the reality of the emotions, and the grit of the movement. This is a Carmen for today's time.”

Carmen contains mature adult themes including sexual content and depictions of violence, that some people may find disturbing.

Carmen contains use of theatrical weapons.

Synopsis and cast sheets

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Melbourne

Carmen 800x1120 — Principal Artist Jill Ogai

Photo Simon Eeles

Artist Jill Ogai dressed in a red dress pouts in a close shot of her face against a dark backdrop. — Principal Artist Jill Ogai
Photo Simon Eeles

3133495 TAB Carmen Inger Jill Ogai Artists of TAB Credit Daniel Boud — Principal Artist Jill Ogai and Artists of The Australian Ballet, *Carmen* (Inger) 2024
Photo Daniel Boud

030 Carmen TAB Sydney credit Daniel Boud 030 — Lilla Harvey, Belle Urwin and Artists of The Australian Ballet, *Carmen* (Inger) 2024
Photo Daniel Boud

054 Carmen TAB Sydney credit Daniel Boud 054 — Principal Artist Marcus Morelli with Lilla Harvey and Artists of The Australian Ballet, *Carmen* (Inger) 2024
Photo Daniel Boud

068 Carmen TAB Sydney credit Daniel Boud 068 — Principal Artist Marcus Morelli, *Carmen* (Inger) 2024
Photo Daniel Boud

Carmen Act 1 Opening Night Side Stage Sydney BJ 51 — Principal Artist Jill Ogai and Artists of The Australian Ballet, *Carmen* (Inger) 2024
Photo Brodie James

3133867 TAB Carmen Inger Jill Ogai Callum Linnane Credit Daniel Boud — Principal Artists Jill Ogai and Callum Linnane, *Carmen* (Inger) 2024
Photo Daniel Boud

Carmen book — 1938 edition of Prosper Mérimée's *Carmen*

5 Reasons to see Carmen

How choreographer Johan Inger adapted the famous story for the ballet stage.

5 reasons to see Carmen

Shot 27 CARMEN Jill 014 copy 2 — Principal Artist Jill Ogai
Photo Simon Eeles

Finding Carmen

Principal Artist Jill Ogai on developing her version of the fierce and fiery character.

Finding Carmen

Production credits

Choreography Johan Inger
Assistant choreographers Toby Mallitt, Javier Rodríguez Cobos and Urtzi Aranburu
Dramaturg Gregor Acuña-Pohl
Music Rodion Shchedrin, after Georges Bizet, "Carmen Suite"
Georges Bizet, orchestrated by Álvaro Domínguez Vázquez, "Overture" and "Danse Bohème"
Additional original music Marc Álvarez
These performances of “Carmen Suite” by Georges Bizet (arranged by Rodion Shchredrin) are given by arrangement with Origin Theatrical Pty Ltd, exclusive agents Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers Ltd of London
Lighting design Tom Visser
Lighting reproduced in 2025 by Doef Beernink and Tom Willis
Set design Curt Allen Wilmer and Leticia Gañán (aapee) with Estudio DeDos
Costume design David Delfín
Costume design associate Maria Luisa Ramos
Intimacy Coordinator Amy Cater

World première 9 April 2015, Teatro de la Zarzuela, Madrid, Spain, Compaňia Nacional de Danza Madrid