OPERA and Ballet International will present Ellen Kent's production of Bizet's Carmen with international soloists, chorus and full orchestra, plus Caspian the white Andalucian stallion and a rescue donkey, at the Grand Opera House, York, on November 24.

Ellen’s mother once ran the Spanish equivalent of the RSPCA, which saved the lives of many donkeys, and to continue this good work, Ellen includes a donkey from a sanctuary at each show to help to raise money for the animal welfare charity.

Evoking the heat and passion of Spain, Ellen's production is inspired by her teenage years in Andalucia, with the brand new set conveying the architecture of Seville and its main square with Roman and Moorish influences and a spectacular dance sequence, in which Joe Butcher, from AB Films, rides the stallion Caspian.

Bizet's Carmen, with its story of the gipsy girl whose bewitching beauty lures a soldier to desertion and leads to her own murder, includes some of the most evocative melodies in opera: The Habanera, The Seguidilla, The Flower Song, The Chanson Bohème and perhaps the best-known baritone aria of all, The Toreador’s Song.

Ellen has staged many productions of Carmen in her 24 years as an opera producer, from outdoors at Leeds Castle in Kent, to a visit to the Middle East in 2004, where she entertained the Emir of Qatar and 3,500 Royal guests. This was the first ever performance of Carmen in the Gulf and was screened live on Al Jazeera Television.

On Ellen's latest tour, the title role will be divided between Romanian National Opera mezzo-soprano Liza Kadelnik and Bulgarian mezzo-soprano Nadezhda Stoianova.

Tickets for the 7.30pm performance on November 24 are on sale on 0844 871 3024 or at atgtickets.com/york. Carmen will be sung in French with English surtitles (CORRECT).

York Press:

Ralph Steadman's limited-edition print of Carmen

COURTESY of Ellen Kent, Opera & Ballet International and the Grand Opera House, York, The Press has several Carmen prizes to be won.

First prize is a limited-edition Ralph Steadman Carmen print, valued at £550, signed by the artist, plus a pair of Carmen tickets and a souvenir programme for November 24.

Two runners-up each will receive a pair of tickets and a programme.

Cartoonist, illustrator and theatre set designer Steadman, who is best known for his collaborations with journalist and author Hunter S. Thompson, has been a patron of Opera and Ballet International for many years. Many of his opera illustrations were created for Ellen Kent or for Harry Enfield's Guide To Opera.

Question: What is the name of the Andalucian horse in Ellen Kent's Carmen?

Send your answer with your name, address and daytime phone number, either on a postcard to Charles Hutchinson, Carmen Competition, The Press, 76-86 Walmgate, York, YO1 9YN, or by email to charles.hutchinson@nqyne.co.uk, by October 9. Usual competition rules apply.