Ellen Kent production of Carmen

[hmvman]

Just wondered if anyone else has been to see this touring production. I saw it in York last night and was, I'm afraid, distinctly underwhelmed. If anyone has been to see it elsewhere have you actually seen the Andalucian stallion on stage? It did not appear in York although a donkey did, briefly.

[Flosshilde]

I thought that perhaps they could claim that the donkey was from Andalucia & was male, & therefore fitted the bill. But a male donkey is called a 'jack' (hence 'jackass'), so yes, there's definitely room for a claim under mis-selling or trades description.

('Andalucian stallion' could have the same meaning as 'Italian stallion'. Were any of the male singers particularly big? )

[hmvman]

Ah, yes but "rescue donkeys" are also mentioned in the publicity so this particular one (named Candyfloss apparently) was fulfilling this role. The lack of stallion was covered in the small print where it states that it will not appear at all venues, hence my wondering whether anyone had actually seen it.

The cast seemed to be mainly Moldavian and the tenor playing José was rather large and portly. Mrs Hmv said that, had she been Carmen, she would't have been throwing her flowers at him!