Today the Marionettes' production of Georges Bizet's Carmen takes the stage with two extraordinary casts.

With a cast led by Candice Alcantara as Carmen, and under the patronage of several dignitaries including President George Maxell Richards and his wife, the bpTT-sponsored production premiered to a packed audience at the Queen's Hall, St Ann's, last weekend. Featuring an award-winning cast and crew of nearly 200, including young string players from the UK, it is the largest and grandest production the Marionettes has ever undertaken.

The story is set in Seville, Spain, circa 1820, and centres around the beautiful and fiery Gypsy girl, Carmen. Passionate and fiercely independent, she falls for and seduces the only man who has shown no interest in her: the young Corporal, Don José. His love for Carmen leads Don José to abandon his family and fiancée, Micaëla, mutiny against his superior, and join a renegade band of Gypsy smugglers. But Carmen lives to be free, and Don José's possessiveness and jealousy send her into the arms of the celebrated bullfighter, Escamillo.

As Don José descends into desperation and despair at Carmen's betrayal, the opera hurtles toward its heart-wrenching conclusion.

Today, Lesley Lewis-Alleyne makes her debut centrestage as Carmen; Nigel Floyd is Don José; Arnold Phillip is her Escamillo; Natalia Dopwell is Micaëla; with Garfield Washington as Moralès; Richard/Nigel Pierre as Zuñiga; Ayrice Wilson and Llettesha Sylvester as Frasquita and Mercédès; Stephan Hernandez and Errol James as Dancaïro and Remendado; Caroline Taylor and Dwight Lewis in the spoken roles of Lillas Pastia and the Guide.

These award-winning vocalists are joined by a premiere orchestra of local instrumentalists as well as British string players, who arrived in Trinidad last week. "There is a lot of excitement all round," explains Marionettes artistic and musical director Gretta Taylor. "We had a wonderful experience with our visiting British string players in 2009. Our members learned so much from them, and they were completely stunned by our local talent, and especially the versatility of the steelpan and our musical traditions. We look forward to another cultural exchange with them and are thrilled to present the first production of Carmen featuring our national instrument, the steelpan, integrated with the traditional Western orchestra."

Partnering with the Marionettes on this tremendous production are sponsors of 39 years, bpTT; a mother-daughter stage direction team (Caroline and Gretta Taylor); Dr Vertrelle Mickens of the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT); the Noble Douglas Dance Company Inc (NDDCI); members of the Love Movement's Lights of Love and a decorated production team including Margaret Sheppard, Randy Halfhide, Celia Wells, Franklin Agarrat, Leslie Clement, Maureen Clement and Giselle Langton.

Showtime is 5 p.m. Tickets are available from the Marionettes (email@marionetteschorale.com or (868) 790-1751); online at http://www.marionettes-carmen.eventbrite.com (open plan tickets only); and the Queen's Hall Box Office, 12 p.m.-6 p.m. daily, phone: (868) 624-1284.

Discounts are also available for returning patrons (once they produce their ticket stubs to the Box Office), and students also receive discounts of $50 to $75 off their ticket purchases.

See our website for details about the production, the cast, the performance schedule, and much more: http://www.marionetteschorale.com and their Marionettes Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/marionetteschorale.