Carmen: Scottish Ballet

By offering Richard Allston the chance to choreograph a new version of Carmen, Scottish Ballet again are linking the modern and classical. A realistic story, concerning the fatal attraction between Don Jose and the wayward heroine, it cuts through ballet’s mythology and describes the familiar, brutal horror of unrestrained love.

Daniel Davidson is playing Don Jose. Having risen through the company, Daniel is excited by what he calls his “first great opportunity”. He acknowledges that Carmen is a populist and challenging choice: a famous score, an accessible story in a new style. “The company hasn’t done it for a while,” he points out. “It’s an interesting piece to have in the repertoire. Story ballets are quite popular. The music is incredible, beautiful.”

Allston’s choreography is modern from process to performance. “He’s quite into collaboration,” adds Daniel. “He’ll say, I’d like you to do something along the lines of this. You’ll do the movements and he’ll mould it, change it. It’s nice when you add your own personality into work.”

Carmen offers Daniel a chance to go beyond the restraints of one-act pieces. “I like getting my teeth into a good dramatic part. Jose has the biggest change of the three leads. He starts as a well-to-do, young cheeky chappy that everyone likes; then he meets Carmen and his world falls apart. She has something that he is really attracted to - she’s a bit fiery and a bit naughty - and it gets him into a lot of trouble. He loses his job. He self-destructs towards the end.”

Subtly, by aligning a strong story with a renowned contemporary choreographer, Scottish Ballet are bringing sophisticated modern movement into the popular consciousness, uncovering those elusive new audiences.