BBC Three has announced a one-hour live show from the centre of Bradford, which will retell the story of Bizet’s Carmen, but in a contemporary Bollywood way.
Produced in-house by BBC Classical Music Television, it was commissioned by Jan Younghusband, commissioning editor for music and events, in conjunction with BBC Three and BBC North.
“The combination of Bizet’s classic story re imagined with the flamboyancy of new Bollywood music commissions and pop songs is an example of how the BBC brings music alive through new musical commissions and innovative exploration of classic work,” said Younghusband.
The storyline centres around a young Bradford girl, who’s bored with her job and really wants to be a dancer and movie star. Then a Bollywood film crew arrives in the city to record a reworking of Carmen…
“Bollywood Live continues our commitment to engage with audiences across the region through big, innovative events. Following the success of the award winning Frankstein’s Wedding in Leeds and The Preston Passion, this stylish, contemporary retelling of a classic story should captivate and entertain not only the people of Bradford but audiences across the UK,” added Peter Salmon, head of BBC North.
While the majority of the cast will be made up of international and national names, there will be involvement from the local community and “audience participation.”
The executive producers are Oliver Macfarlane and Pat Connor and it’s directed by Indra Bhose. The show will take place on the 9th June 2013 at City Park in Bradford.
