“Franco Zeffirelli spoke with the animals. He spoke with the geese and was convinced he’d trained them. Only later did he learn that they actually understood the music – and knew exactly when to make their entrance.” So says Cecilia Gasdia, General Manager of the Fondazione Arena di Verona, which runs the world’s largest opera festival.

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the premiere of Carmen in Paris, and three months later, the death of its composer, Georges Bizet. In its 102nd season the Arena di Verona Opera Festival commemorates Bizet with the 15th revival of Zeffirelli’s spectacular Carmen. It was created for the Roman amphitheatre in 1995, but the flamboyant director continued tweaking the staging and adjusting overlong set changes until his death in 2019.

The entrance of the goose and gander is long gone, but to celebrate the production’s 30th anniversary, three clueless  journalists – myself included – are let loose on stage, for one night only.

Franco Zeffirelli’s Carmen, Arena di Verona. Image supplied

Normally an opera critic’s job is fairly cushy. The pay is rubbish, but you get to visit classy locations and ornately decorated opera houses....