THE controversial production of Bizet's opera Carmen, a highlight of this year's Bolton Festival, is pulling in the punters at the Octagon Theatre.
Bolton's Mayor Cllr Cliff Morris and his wife Doreen, the Mayoress, are the VIP guests for Thursday's opening night.
The theatre reports near sell-outs for Wednesday's preview show and Thursday's performance. And organisers say the ticket sales for the rest of the run, until September 20, are incredibly healthy.
Carmen played to large audiences when it was staged at the New Vic Theatre, Ashton-under- Lyme, recently. It is a joint production between the New Vic and the Octagon. The opera's setting has been moved from Seville to the north of England and has a new English libretto. The story is brought up to date by including a security guard besotted with Carmen, whose new love is a footballer called Tony Amor. The opera's Toreador song becomes "Tony Amor", and was a hit with the New Vic audience.
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