For more than 30 years, West Australian Opera has harnessed Perth’s predictably clement weather to present its successful and popular annual outdoor summer operas.  The company’s 2023 offering is its boldest move yet with a well-judged production of Bizet’s Carmen at the WACA stadium, Perth’s iconic home of cricket, performed as part of Perth Festival.

Ashlyn Tymms as Carmen, West Australian Opera, 2023. Photo supplied

The 5,000-strong audience was seated in and around the Lillee Marsh Stand, with the proceedings taking place on a large stage in the centre, perpendicular to the wicket. Two screens on either side of the stage conveyed the action, mainly through tight-shot camera work (which was also livestreamed round the state).

From my seat, which was quite far left of the stage, a glance to the right kept me abreast of the big-picture panorama, and a glance in the other direction provided the close-up detail, even capturing a real tear from the wonderful Prudence Sanders. I felt sorry for those in the far south-west pavilion, however, as not only was their vista denied the action on the main stage, their relatively tiny screen seemed hardly...