This lavish, spectacular production of Bizet's emotionally powerful opera was staged in the vast expanse of London's Earls Court to wide critical acclaim. It is an opera about the struggle betwen a man and a woman, extremes of passion, and Carmen's ultimate sacrifice following her search for absolute freedom. Steven Pimlott's grand-scale production, with a cast of 80, expresses wildly the whole world of smugglers, soldiers, bullfighters, flamenco dancers, procession and carnival, a celebration of life before the final death. The sensual Maria Ewing sings the part of the hot blooded, passionate gypsy with all the temperament and fury that the role demands, progressing from fun-loving woman through her savage treatment of Don Jose' to her confrontation with death.