Opera Scotland

Carmen 1972Sadler's Wells Opera

Read more about the opera Carmen

In the early 1970s the team of John Copley and Stefanos Lazaridis produced a series of wonderfully successful stagings at the London houses – Carmen, Trovatore and Seraglio at the Coliseum; Figaro and Don Giovanni at Covent Garden. This Carmen, with Ann Howard very effective in the title role, opened at the Coliseum on 6 May 1970 and was revived frequently. Sadly, the later revivals could not include David Hughes, who died at a young age.

The care taken by Mackerras and Copley is shown by the fact that one of the staff directors, David Ritch, had responsibility for working with the singers specifically as a dialogue coach – this seems to have helped greatly with the spontaneity of the whole show.

The schedule for the fortnight was:

Week commencing 24 April: Mon Cav & Pag; Tue Seraglio; Wed Carmen; Thu Duke Bluebeard's Castle & Oedipus Rex; Fri Cav & Pag; Sat Twilight of the Gods.

Week commencing 1 May: Mon Carmen; Tue Duke Bluebeard & Oedipus; Wed Cav & Pag; Thu Seraglio; Fri Carmen; Sat Twilight.

Cast details are from a programme in the OperaScotland collection.