When the melody of "Habanera" (the most famous aria in Carmen) rings out, what you see this time is no longer the tobacco factory in Seville, Spain. Instead, it's the neon glow of Causeway Bay in 1978, the tipsy nights of Lan Kwai Fong, the cheers from the racecourse—the spirited vibe of "Love Is Like A Bird Rebellious."
From May 7 to May 10, the world's most-performed opera, Carmen, will arrive on the HK stage in a way that challenges imagination. In history, Carmen was first adapted into a distinctly HK style. The fiery, tragic story of love and death penned by French composer Bizet—goodbye to 19th-century Spain—crosses time and drops into HK in 1978, a golden era of economic takeoff, East-meets-West cultural fusion, and everything new. The story, in four acts, will move between Causeway Bay, Lan Kwai Fong, the bustling pier, and the racecourse. This is not just an opera performance—it's a love letter to HK.
Tickets were sold out a full week in advance. This city is already ready to welcome its Carmen.
A Conversation with Director Jia Ding: Making Audiences See Their Parents' "Homeland"
Reporter: Why did you decide to bring Carmen to HK in 1978?
Jia Ding: When we first chose this project, the first thing that came to my mind was "how could it connect with our audiences, with HK people?"
HK in 1978 manifested great vibrancy through its interactions with the international world and the Mainland. But at the same time, I felt that behind the bustle was also a mindset—the most vibrant state of everyone's inner world in that kind of era.
So we set the story in HK in 1978, hoping that, through this production—originally written 150 years ago—it can create an emotional connection with people here and now. Young people today may not have lived through the 1970s and 1980s, but we hope that by watching this performance, they can feel what their "parents' home" in 1978 was like.
Tickets are being sold out so many days early, we can tell that HK audiences identify with our choice of this theme.
Reporter: What special designs did you include?
Jia Ding: We chose four major scene settings: Causeway Bay, Lan Kwai Fong, a busy port in HK at the time, and the racecourse. Without making big changes, we simply added some HK flavour. For example, there are Cantonese dialogues and some traditional HK folk elements—like worshipping the God of Wealth (Wu Chai Shen) and Guan Yu inside shops, and so on.
Reporter: For you, what is it like to stage an opera in Hong Kong?
Jia Ding: I extremely admire the enthusiasm of HK audiences—their attire, their styling, and the atmosphere throughout the theatre. In that sense, I think it's truly a happy thing to stage an opera in Hong Kong.
Producer Warren Mok and Conductor Franck Colombier in Dialogue: Artistic Sparks Between the East & West
Reporter: To those who have never watched an opera before, how would you recommend Carmen?
Warren Mok: For people who have never watched any opera, Carmen is the most suitable opera to be their first. Because some of the melodies are already familiar to everyone. Whether you like opera or not, you've probably heard it in supermarkets, in children's books, and in many places. Then you come to see the real opera, and you say, "Wow—I've heard this melody!" It brings back memories. That's the meaning of opera.
Reporter: Franck, as the conductor, what musical adjustments did you make for this adaptation? Are there any surprises you can share?
Franck Colombier: We added 800 measures, cut 300 measures, and slightly changed some orchestration. There will be an instrument—once the audience hears it, they will love it. But I won't tell you what it is—you'll have to come see the performance to find out. It appears in a very well-known passage. The best way to move audiences is to make them feel like they are inside the story themselves.
Reporter: How can opera help HK in communicating with the outside world?
Warren Mok: Opera brings people together. Opera is an international art form—it doesn't belong to any single country. Through opera productions, international artists come to know HK, and they also help shape HK as an international cultural hub. Through performing arts like opera, we can introduce HK to the world as a cultural hub for international artists.
Reporter: What are your plans?
Warren Mok: For the past 23 years, we've been engaged in the opera area. HK has nine major art groups funded by the Government—we hope to become the tenth. Then we can produce more operas, creating an opera season, to do more French, Italian, German, and Chinese operas.
Next year marks the 30th anniversary of HK's return to China. The HK City Hall will produce an original Chinese opera—written in Chinese, sung in Mandarin, but using Western bel canto technique.
Led by producer Warren Mok and conductor Franck Colombier, with French singers delivering heartfelt performances, and with director Jia Ding injecting HK flavour—ranging from Cantonese dialogues to the worship of the Martial God of Wealth, from the bustle of the street markets to the charm of the waterfront—this classic, created 150 years ago, will create an emotional resonance across time with people in HK today.
(Report: Lynn Zhou; Videographer: Jack Wang; Video Editor: Ian)
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A bold new production of Bizet's 'Carmen': Timeless masterpiece reimagined in 1970s HK
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