Sunday night at the opera is proving a box-office winner for Wimbledon Theatre where the Polish State Opera of Krakow will make a stopover on November 18 during its first ever British tour with a spectacular production of Carmen.

"The size of the theatre doesn't make longer runs economically feasible but a one-night stand has proved to be just the ticket," a spokesman said. "It's interesting, too, that punters seem to like opera on a Sunday night."

A key factor is that the "one-nighters" feature visiting East European companies whose productions have gained a reputation for being traditional purists would say old-fashioned and lavish in set design and costumes.

Previous visitors to Wimbledon have been the state operas of Chisinau, capital of Moldova, and Wroclaw, the former German city of Breslau now in Poland.

The Krakow Carmen also calls at Croydon Fairfield Halls next Monday (Nov 12).

November 12, 2001 16:30