Opera in the Open at Bayham Abbey – Carmen – Saturday 2nd August 2025

Description

It is great to welcome back Heritage Opera for the fourth time at Bayham Abbey. They specialise in bringing opera to stately homes, mainly in the North of England and have performed in many places including Chatsworth, Hatfield and, of course, Bayham.

The plot of Carmen is well-known. Set in a remote town the soldiers spend their time drinking and all are obsessed with Carmen, a fiery local gypsy. Don Jose, a corporal has just received a letter from his mother urging him to return home and marry a local girl but when a brawl breaks out and Don Jose is ordered to guard Carmen he is captivated. But when she wants him to run away with him, he refuses and she turns her attention to a swaggering bullfighter Escamillo. And then – tragedy! The music is now so famous, and amongst the best-loved arias are Habanera or ‘Love is a rebellious bird’, Seguidilla or ‘Near the ramparts in Seville’, and the Toreador song: but there are many others too.

If you have not experienced a picnic followed by opera at the atmospheric and beautiful Bayham Abbey, with ever changing coloured lights flooding the abbey walls, you should be sure to be there.

The gates at Bayham open for picnics at 5.30pm and the opera starts at 7.30pm. Car parking is in a field next to the Bayham grounds.

Date: August 2nd
Time: 17.00
Venue: Bayham Abbey
Tickets: £40