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Bizet’s Carmen was slated as vulgar when it premiered in 1875 Paris, and this vibrantly bawdy UK production will defy anyone who calls opera priggish.

Saucy gypsy Carmen (Christine Rice) seduces a corporal (Bryan Hymel), only to turn her gaze to a macho bullfighter (Aris Argiris).

Footage of a packed Royal Opera House puts us right inside the theatre experience from the minute our 3D glasses are on, complete with an intermission for champers-quaffing.

Pushing three hours, the staginess wears thin, but suggesting a cut-down version might be sacrilege to Bizet buffs.