Holten says he’s keen to steer clear of the Spanish clichés on the one hand, and to examine Carmen as a real person on the other…It’s no earth-shattering insight but it does form the basis for a central performance from Gäelle Arquez that is unusually three-dimensional, occasionally communicating a touching remorse and reflection. It helps, too, that the French mezzo is a striking, captivating performer, wrapping all and sundry round her little finger.

With microphones both visible and impacting on the sound quality, this is, not perhaps a Carmen to be savoured for its own sake so much as a souvenir of a lively and intelligently thought-through modern-dress production; there's plenty of dancing (choreographed by Signe Fabricius), some of it undertaken in the water, where the protagonist eventually meets her fate. Paolo Carignani's conducting is vital and energising, the chorus disciplined and the orchestra of high quality.

Carmen from Bregenz (2017) is effective. It has three main advantages. Firstly, Es Devlin’s spectacular set – a pair of massive hands that rise from the lake to embrace the stage, throwing giant cards that tumble and spin over the action, and which double as screens to enlarge the stage action. Secondly, Paolo Carignani’s conducting, which combines pace with detail (plus the dialogue is largely shorn). Lastly, Gaëlle Arquez’s knockout Carmen: sexy, charismatic and beautifully sung.