Carmen Abdriged

Charlotte Higgins, Abridged too far. The Guardian. 20.3.2004.

Cheap, short, accessible opera is a nifty idea. But will it actually entice people to watch the real thing?

"An operatic experience reduced in length but not in impact" is how a programme note by Anthony Freud, Welsh National Opera's general director, describes the company's new version of Carmen. The reduction is radical: the WNO Carmen clocks in at just one hour. Uncut, it can run for three.

Its short span is not the only unusual thing about this production, which is currently on tour. It is also radically cheap - tickets cost £5 and £10 - and played at unfamiliar times. Performances are at 2.30pm and 6.15pm: the afternoon show is designed to allow visiting parties of kids to be back at the school gates by home-time, and the early-evening performance is aimed at an after-work crowd.

If Carmen is deemed successful, it will be the first of a series. The idea of Opera Cuts, as the project is called, is to introduce new audiences to opera. Because the seats are cheap, and the length undaunting, the idea is that the curious will be tempted to take a chance. But will it work? Is it really possible to take a short cut to opera? "