Bold new take on Carmen heads to Somerset venues this summer

The Reduced Opera Company, working alongside The Bluebirds Theatre Company, is taking a reimagined production of Bizet’s Carmen on the road, promising a fresh and accessible take on the classic tale.

Sung in English, the production relocates the story to a modern-day setting inside a vast cloth factory, where the central character Carmen is reimagined as a charismatic textile worker seeking a life beyond the daily grind.

Performances of Carmen by The Reduced Opera Company:

Blakehay Theatre, Weston-super-Mare – Fri 26 June, 7pm
Montacute House, Yeovil – Sat 27 June, 7pm (open air performance)
Speedwell Gardens, Crewkerne – Sun 28 June, 2pm (open air performance)
Bridgwater Arts Centre – Fri 3 July, 7pm
North Curry Church – Sat 4 July, 7.30pm
Hestercombe Gardens – Sun 5 July, 6pm (open air performance)

The story follows Carmen as she draws in Don Jose, a lonely security guard, into her rebellious world, while celebrity fashion designer Escamillo brings bravado and a touch of bull-ring flair to the stage.

The company behind the production is a Taunton-based independent opera group, and this summer’s tour also marks the final outing for its much-loved pop-up theatre, The Popera House. The striking mobile venue, which has become a familiar feature of the local arts scene over the past six years, is set to be sold at auction due to rising running costs, with its final performance taking place at Hestercombe Gardens. Over the years, The Popera House has hosted a wide range of events across Somerset, from children’s puppet shows and cabaret to jazz nights, youth singing showcases and full-scale opera productions.

With just six singers accompanied by piano and flamenco guitar, the show keeps an intimate feel, in what organisers describe as a unique retelling of a well-loved opera.

Audiences can expect powerful melodies alongside a production that aims to make opera more approachable to a wider audience.

Previous performances by the company have been praised, with audience members calling the show “bold and brilliant” and noting it received “a very long and enthusiastic applause”, while another described it as “funny, accessible, full of heart and charm”.

The tour will visit a range of indoor and outdoor venues across the county over the coming weeks, including Weston-super-Mare, Yeovil, Crewkerne, Bridgwater and North Curry, as well as Hestercombe Gardens.

Tickets are available through the company’s website and ticketing platform.