Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House
February 3, 2014

The American director Francesca Zambello cut her teeth on a combination of symbolist opera and the mega-musicals of the 80s and 90s. Over time her vision has distilled into one of essentially heightened naturalism, and her handsome Royal Opera House Carmen, dating from 2006 and first seen here in 2008, is fully representative of her ability to handle the intimate while keeping a weather eye on the epic. The symbolism still has its place – horses as Lorcaesque representations of male sexuality, the bullring as sacred space of love and death – but those wanting a no-nonsense, true to period, traditional take on Bizet’s masterpiece need look no further.

Tanya McCallin’s simple but adaptable set – beautifully lit in golden russets and ochres by Paule Constable’s detailed, sultry lighting ­– conjures the heat and passion of 19th-century Spain with its rigid social structure, its aloof bourgeoisie and its semi-criminal underclasses, instantly creating the fevered, intimate space that Gale Edwards’ heavy-handed juggernaut on the harbour last year so singularly failed to carry off. Within this theatrical design, complete with convincing orange tree and water trough, Zambello deploys her actors with much attention to...