An evening of passion, sexual jealousy and death... Ellen Kent's farewell opera tour is coming to the Kings Theatre
Queen of opera Ellen Kent sips on a glass of Tallisker as she ponders the success of her career. She insists her tot of the Isle of Skye whisky is not too large, not too small - just enough to drink twice a day for medicinal purposes, as she has been told it helps keep her blood pressure in check.
Ellen could be forgiven if this has risen a little this year as she embarks on what has been dubbed her farewell tour of bringing the spectacle of opera to theatres around the UK. And she is particularly looking forward to bringing Opera International, Kyiv, Ukraine, to the Kings Theatre in Southsea next week with her production of Carmen.
Promising an evening of passion, sexual jealousy, death and unforgettable arias the show would be enough to get anyone’s pulses racing. It also happens to be Ellen’s favourite.
This dazzling production with orchestra features Bizet’s unforgettable melodies including The Toreador’s Song, Carmen’s enticing Habanera, and Don José’s lyrical Flower Song in a setting evoking the stunning architecture of Seville and its main square with Roman and Moorish influences.
‘Carmen is my favourite. It's just so exciting. The story has a real grit to it, real passion and colour. We have a good cast and the best Carmen I've ever had ever. Mariia Davydova (mezzo-soprano) is tall, beautiful, slim with flaming red hair,’ says Ellen between sips.
Born in India, the daughter of the High Commissioner, Ellen’s mother staged opera productions in Mumbai with Ellen performing when she was just six years old. “I had a hugely creative and colourful childhood which played a key role in shaping my life and artistic career,” Ellen recalls.
Having moved to England she graduated from Durham University before training at the prestigious Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. Ellen spent several years working as an actress before moving into producing. At the time she was working from her own kitchen table with a modest turnover of £80,000, but her drive and imagination would quickly propel her into producing on a scale few could have imagined.
She worked extensively across Europe and grew her reputation of bringing productions from the continent to these shores. But Ellen insists her passion for opera happened by accident in the early 1990s when she met the director of an acclaimed film of Carmen, Francesco Rosi, at a Downing Street reception hosted by Prime Minister John Major. When Rochester City Council in Kent then asked her to provide “something spectacular” for its annual Arts Festival, Ellen raised sponsorship to bring over the Romanian National Opera’s Nabucco. Performed memorably in the rain against the dramatic backdrop of the walls of Rochester Castle, Nabucco played to an audience of more than 7,000 people and received glowing reviews in the national press.
From that moment, Ellen began to specialise in bringing high-quality Eastern European opera and ballet to the UK, with a desire to put on lavish shows, including sell-outs at the Royal Albert Hall. She has worked with the Romanian National Opera, the Moldovan National Opera and Ballet in Chisinau and now the Ukrainian National Operas of Odessa, Kharkiv and Kyiv.
“I am a very visual person, so I’m involved in every stage from the creative process through to production – everything from the set design to costumes,” Ellen explains. “I like my operas to look like a series of incredible paintings – colourful and beautiful. And beauty brings emotion. I love lighting as it can really change a set and the mood.”
Although billed as her farewell tour, Ellen is a little enigmatic when pushed on her feelings on the curtain coming down. She is focusing on setting up the Ellen Kent International Opera Agency but has not ruled out what the future might bring.
‘Would I consider doing a tour in 2028? Yes, I may come back - you never know. Watch this space.’
Carmen, sung in French with English surtitles, is at the Kings Theatre on Thursday, March 19, starting at 7.30pm. Tickets are available on the theatre website.