Carmen Jones, Oscar Hammerstein's adaptation of Bizet's opera Carmen, will be presented at the Melbourne Concert Hall on July 14 and 17.

American soprano Wilhelmenia Fernandez is being brought to Australia to sing the title role, recreating the part she played in the successful 1991 West End production.

Transferring the setting of Bizet's work from 19th century Spain to the United States during the second World War, Carmen Jones opened on Broadway in 1943 but is often known for the 1950's film version starring Dorothy Dandridge and Harry Belafonte. Both stars' singing was dubbed with Marilyn Horne lending her voice to the soundtrack for Dandridge.

The concert version will also feature Miriam Gormley as Cindy Lou, Michael Edward Stevens as boxer Husky Miller and Samoan tenor Sani Muliaumaseali'i as Corporal Joe. Although presented as a concert version, the staging will be enhanced through the direction and choreography of Kim Walker and in interviews Fernandez has already promised a tempestuous performance.

Bookings on (61-3) 136166. -- Russell Watson
Australian Correspondent