ENO: a sexy, sensual Carmen... but you can still take mother

John Berry added that a party of schoolchildren “had loved it”.

The production, which opens at the London Coliseum tonight after preview performances, promises a “rollercoaster ride” of passion, lust and violence, as a tattooed opera singer, scantily clad heroine and a “bipolar” Don Jose take to the stage. Some of the male cast appear stripped to their underpants.

Donna Lennard, a soprano who has seen a preview of the show, has called it “raw”, “raunchy” and not for the “faint-hearted or prudish”.

The role of Carmen is “sexy and sensual”, said Mr Berry, adding that the audience will “feel the heat, dust and passion” of the “high energy”, “visceral” and “brutal” show. He insists that it is not shocking. “It’s not raunchy by ENO standards; it’s not an extreme production by any means,” he said.

“Everybody can take their mum to see it. We had a party of schoolchildren in last night who absolutely loved it; the response was remarkable.

“The audience will be able to feel the heat, the dust and the passion. It’s an incredible story with an extraordinary, phenomenal director.”

The new version of the opera, by the director Calixto Bieito, pledges to return to the original spirit of the “scandalous” tale.

Preview photographs show Carmen and Don Jose in a series of passionate embraces, including one on top of a car. Ruxandra Donose’s understated Carmen, the fiery gipsy who seduces the naive Don Jose, is intended to be “sexy and sensual without being overtly so”.

Don Jose, played by Adam Diegel, is directed to draw audience sympathy, with a violent streak tempered by tenderness.

A cast member, baritone Duncan Rock, who is said to be the “heart-throb” of the company, yesterday posted a photograph of himself online covered in tattoos, joking: “Another ENO production, another set of tattoos.”

“It will be an eye-opener,” agrees Mr Berry. “It’s visually stunning with high energy; it’s quite a brutal piece. It is not the fluffy fantasy of castanets, pretty dresses, bullrings and picturesque scenery you might get in other productions.

“It’s a dynamic, physical production. It’s raw, poetic, romantic and dark. It’s about real people, a love triangle and is passionate theatre.”

The production marks the return of Calixto Bieito to ENO after a decade. The Spanish director is alternately labelled the “Quentin Tarantino of opera” and “everyone’s favourite bad boy”.

His sometimes outrageous directions, including one memorable performance which placed 14 cast members on the lavatory, have provoked passionate responses from his audience.

A spokesman for ENO, which pledges to “keep opera relevant for contemporary audiences”, admitted Bieito is “known for his challenging and controversial productions”.

“Carmen scandalised its earliest audiences with its raw depiction of lust among the low-lifes of 19th-century Seville,” she said, adding that the new production was “arguably truer to the spirit of Bizet’s original conception than most more conventional stagings you’ll ever see”.

ENO has recently embarked on a drive to attract new, younger audiences to the opera, with initiatives including a scheme offering £25 tickets and a casual dress code to entice first-time fans.