"It caused quite a scandal in 1875.  Having this character who steals, who dies, in a theatre for the family. It was changed over the years and lost a bit of violence, so I went back to the source [an 1845 novella by Prosper Mérimée] to show how manipulative she is, and how violent they both are."

The production—which debuted in 2023 at France's Théâtre des Arts, Rouen—faithfully recreates the 1875 original. Fortunately, says Gilbert, plenty of sources were available to help with the process: illustrations and photos of sets and costumes, and in particular the detailed staging manual from the time.

"In this small booklet, you can find almost all the information you need to revive the show. It's the document that made Carmen so famous abroad. All operas at the time had one. It has information about the costumes, the sets, where people should stand, where the extras and chorus were on the stage."

So profound have the changes in opera production been during the past 150 years that Gilbert's role didn't even exist when Carmen was first staged. Today, his role in drawing out the emotional development of the characters is critical, something he says is particularly true in the case of the male lead.

"The character of Don José is very interesting psychologically. He's fascinating for a director—always up and down. At the end of every act, he's making a decision—and they're always bad ones. He says: 'If you don't love me the way I want to be loved, I will turn violent.' We need to understand where his violence is coming from."