THE Russian State Opera return to York Barbican tonight and the Scarborough Spa Grand Hall tomorrow with Georges Bizet's Carmen.

The North Yorkshire audiences are invited to feel the thrill and passion of love, jealousy and violence of 19th century Seville in a night of fierce passion, gorgeous melodies, nail-biting dramatic confrontations and musical wit.

First performed in 1875, Carmen tells the story of the downfall of Don José, a naïve soldier who is seduced by Carmen, a free-spirited femme fatale. José abandons his childhood sweetheart and deserts from his military duties, yet loses Carmen's love to the glamorous toreador Escamillo.

Love, treachery, passion and betrayal, Carmen has it all. The music of Carmen has been widely acclaimed for its brilliance of melody, harmony, atmosphere and orchestration, and for the skill with which Bizet represented, musically, the emotions and suffering of his characters. The Toreador Song is among the best known of all operatic arias.

If you have never tried opera before, you will love this full orchestra experience with fantastic, colourful costumes, exquisite singing and those wonderful tunes that the audience will still be humming to themselves on their way home.

Carmen will be performed in French with English surtitles, accompanied by an orchestra of more than 30 musicians.

York Barbican tickets for Carmen are on sale on 0844 854 2757 or at yorkbarbican.co.uk; Scarborough, 01723 821888 or at scarboroughspa.co.uk