State Opera South Australia's production of Carmen, starring South Australian Charlotte Kelso in the title role, plays at Her Majesty's Theatre from 18-24 October 2026 as part of the company's Golden Jubilee celebrations. Director Laura Hansford's maximalist surrealist approach to the 1825 Seville setting, combined with Bizet's seductive and dangerous score conducted by Artistic Director Dane Lam, explores Carmen's autonomy and the destructive entitlement that surrounds her refusal to surrender her freedom. Rating: 5/5
Review by Markus Hamence – State Opera South Australia's Carmen. Performance date: Saturday 18 October 2026. Her Majesty's Theatre, Adelaide, South Australia.
Carmen has absolutely no interest in making herself smaller for someone else’s comfort. There’s the attraction, there’s the friction, and there’s a very good reason we’re still talking about her. State Opera South Australia’s Carmen, playing at Her Majesty’s Theatre in Adelaide, brings Bizet’s famous heroine into the company’s Golden Jubilee celebrations with a story that puts desire, independence and possessiveness on a collision course.
Director Laura Hansford retains the opera’s 1825 Seville setting, approaching it through maximalist surrealism. It’s an intriguing creative proposition: a period world with room for heightened emotion and visual extravagance. Her stated focus on Carmen’s autonomy also offers a compelling way into the drama. Look beyond the familiar seductress label and there’s a woman insisting on the right to choose her own life. That insistence should hardly be radical. The response it provokes is where this story gets uncomfortable.
Vocally, the leads and chorus give this Carmen some serious firepower. There is most certainly impressive talent on stage. South Australian Charlotte Kelso takes the title role, opposite Gerard Schneider as Don José, with Samuel Dale Johnson as Escamillo and Desiree Frahn as Micaëla. It’s a central quartet with rich dramatic territory to explore: attraction, loyalty, swagger and the increasingly dangerous belief that loving somebody gives you a claim over them. The world-class Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and the impressive State Opera Chorus complete the production’s musical forces. These are the moments when opera gets you in the chest: all those voices, the orchestra, all that emotion and the sheer pleasure of hearing them fill Her Majesty’s Theatre.
“Carmen’s music seduces, but it’s her refusal to surrender her freedom that gives this opera its teeth.” - Markus Hamence
And then there’s Bizet. The man certainly knew his way around a tune. The Habanera has that delicious combination of invitation and warning, while the Toreador Song practically arrives with its own spotlight. These melodies are familiar enough to greet you like old acquaintances, even if this is your first encounter with the complete opera. But their appeal goes deeper than recognition. Seduction, bravado and approaching danger are written into the music; the gorgeousness comes with teeth.
State Opera SA's Artistic Director Dane Lam conducts, with outstanding soaring sets (complete with the most beautifully created flowering tree) and intricately detailed costumes by Ailsa Paterson and lighting co-designed by Bernie Tan-Hayes and Mark Oakley. The company describes a visual journey in which intense colour gradually drains away as the tragedy develops. As a design concept, that has real bite: the world’s beauty becoming increasingly vulnerable to the darkness of the story. It gives the visual storytelling an emotional purpose beyond simply dressing the stage.
“Beneath the swagger and seduction, Carmen asks a question that still cuts deep: why does a woman’s independence remain such a threat?” - Markus Hamence
What interests me most about Carmen is the tension between its irresistible musical appeal and the ugliness of entitlement at its centre. We can revel in the melodies while recognising exactly what is happening beneath them. Carmen’s freedom is hers to exercise. Don José’s inability to accept that is his responsibility. Keeping that distinction clear gives this enduring opera its sharpest contemporary edge.
For anyone dipping a toe into opera, there’s plenty here to grab hold of: recognisable music, complicated characters and emotions that require very little translation. The production is performed in French with English surtitles, with the Adelaide season running until 24 October.
Carmen may have some of opera’s most seductive music on her side, but her most powerful statement is simpler: she gets to decide who she belongs to. Herself.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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