Island Carmen fresh take on classic opera

Staging Carmen on Sydney's Cockatoo Island has come with some unusual challenges.

For starters, it's taken more than 40 barge trips to shift the massive set across the harbour from Woolwich, along with valuable musical instruments ... and two semitrailers' worth of portable loos.

Dressing rooms have been erected in the island's old industrial buildings, but marquees were needed for extra protection against the resident pigeons.

"No soprano wants to have pigeon poo in her hair when she goes on," director Liesel Badorrek said.

Badorrek was working with the chorus on site for the first time on Wednesday, and told AAP the outdoor opera would go on - rain, hail or shine.

"We've got people performing at heights and various things that can go wrong, but we've got contingency plans for wind and rain and, you know, bad moods," she joked.

Opera Australia has done plenty of shows on Sydney Harbour, but Carmen will be the first opera ever performed on the heritage-listed island.

Badorrek's rock'n'roll production is inspired by the industrial surrounds, with a stage surrounded by scaffolding, motorbike performers, car chases and fireworks.

She believes Carmen's big numbers, like the Chanson boheme and the Toreador song, play brilliantly as big rock hits, and promises a vibe that's more music festival than Opera House.

"I hope it attracts an audience that might not go to opera on the harbour and certainly would think twice about going to the Opera House," she said.

Which is to say, Badorrek is determined to do Carmen differently, starting with Carmen herself.

"She's endlessly fetishised or demonised, she's frequently played as uber-sexy in a really clichéd way, a femme fatale who lures a man to his demise. I'm just having none of that," she said.

Badorrek is well aware the production is being staged during a global conversation about misogyny in opera, and sees the show as an opportunity to talk about violent and oppressive behaviours against women.

Both singers cast in the lead, Sian Sharp and Carmen Topciu, have played the role before, and were pleased that this time they weren't required to pout and wiggle their hips, according to Badorrek.

There have been dozens of reinterpretations of Carmen - a ballet version, a production on ice, and a "hip hopera" starring Beyoncé. A 2018 Italian production even took a stand by changing the ending to grant Carmen her revenge.

But how much is it possible to alter an opera that is inherently a story of violence against women?

Badorrek said she has not changed the libretto or the score one bit, and maintains she has other tools in her kit.

"I wanted to give all the female characters agency and see Carmen as a woman who is just wild and playful and bold and interesting like women I know, and see how that alters the story," she said.

Carmen is playing from November 25 until December 18.