Synopsis
ACT 1 -A town square between a tobacco factory and a military guard-post
Corporal Moralès and his fellow soldiers are commenting on the crowd passing by. He invites
Micaëla, who is from Corporal José’s home village and is searching for him, to wait behind, but she declines
and leaves. When José arrives with the guard, Moralès tells him about the girl, whilst Lieutenant Zuniga
enquires about the tobacco factory girls.
The factory bell rings and the girls emerge and mock the fickleness of love, whilst the men await their
favourite, the gypsy Carmen. She will not make promises to love anyone; love cannot be dictated to. José is
ignoring her and she throws him a flower, which he then hides from the
approaching Micaëla. The girl brings money, a kiss and a letter from his mother that advises him to return
home and marry Micaëla.
José has been ordered by Zuniga to investigate a fight in the factory and he arrests Carmen for having attacked another woman. Whilst he is guarding her she toys with his emotions and sings that she will go to
the bar with her new lover. He agrees to help, by untying her, in exchange for love. As soon as Zuniga returns
with a warrant she pushes José to the ground and escapes.
ACT 2 -Lillas Pastia’s bar
The gypsy girls, Carmen, Frasquita and Mercédès are singing a gypsy song. Whilst flirting with Carmen,
Zuniga tells her that José has been released following his arrest, demotion and a month’s detention. The
crowd cheer the approaching bullfighter, Escamillo, whom Zuniga toasts. Escamillo responds by singing of
his Toreador exploits and then, seeing Carmen, says he will wait for her love.
When everyone else has left, the bandits le Dancaïre and le Remendado arrive and demand the girls’ help in
a smuggling operation. Carmen refuses to leave straight away as she is in love, which puzzles the others and
causes them to mock her.
José comes looking for Carmen, and she says she will dance for him alone to discharge her debt. The bugle
call reminds José of his duty to return to barracks, but is reproached by Carmen for putting duty before love.
He stays to assure her of his love and she encourages him to desert for a life of freedom with the outlaws.
His determination to resist is broken by the arrival of Zuniga to order José back to barracks. On Carmen’s
orders the officer is disarmed and humiliated by the returning smugglers, forcing José to join them.
ACT 3 - In the mountains
Whilst the gypsies rest on their journey, Carmen and José are left alone, and he seeks
reconciliation to all their quarrelling. She says he does not belong and should go home to his mother.
Fearing that she will cause his destruction she distances herself, but only makes him jealous. Her fears are
confirmed as Mercédès and Frasquita read their fortunes in the cards: death for both the lovers.
Le Dancäire returns with a plan for the three gypsy girls to distract each of the customs officers.