Carlos Acosta’s Carmen takes to the road

Carlos Acosta's Carmen: All pics - Polina Koroleva

Carlos Acosta’s Cuban dance company, Acosta Danza, celebrates its 10th anniversary by bringing his version of Carmen to the Opera House in Manchester next spring (April 22-25, 2026), as part of a five-venue UK tour.

It’s a full-length version of the one-act show he created for the Royal Ballet in 2015 and, like his Nutcracker in Havana, seen at the Lowry this January, gives the story a distinctively Cuban twist.

The new Carmen premiered at Sadler’s Wells in July 2024 to considerable acclaim, with the athletic and brilliant Laura Rodriguez in the title role and Acosta himself as The Bull (no unseen victim for toreador Escamillo in this version, but a kind of mythical

Fate figure who frames the action).

Carmen and Don Jose in Acosta Danza's Carmen

There’s no Micaela - the sweet girl soldier Don Jose abandons when he falls for gypsy seductress Carmen - but otherwise this version follows the Prosper Merimee storyline in its main elements, and the recorded music is from Bizet, though in the scaled-down orchestrations of Rodion Shchedrin’s Carmen Suite – that’s the one where the orchestra plays only the accompaniment to the Toreador Song, plus some flamenco and other additions by Martin Yates, Yhovani Duarte and Denis Paralta, rather than the actual melody.

There are 20 names in the company list (not including Laura Rodriguez or Carlos Acosta) and guest artist is Alejandro Silva, who we saw as the Prince in Nutcracker in Havana.

Carlos Acosta said: “I take great pride in seeing my amazing dancers flourish as we continue to celebrate the 10^th anniversary of the company.”

More info and tickets here (there are no other northern venues)