The tragic love stories of the operatic genre often feature murder of women, including Georges Bizet's 'Carmen', composed in 1875. The romance, fiery story, wonderful music and singing downplay the morbidity – but in the real world, every 20 minutes a woman is killed by her partner.

These killings are not isolated tragedies, but typically they follow a pattern that criminologist Jane Monckton Smith has divided into eight predictable steps. ‘The Undoing of Carmen’ uses the dramaturgy of these eight steps to analyse Bizet's drama. The three soloists alternately take on the roles of perpetrator, victim and martyr and a different and agitating opera performance comes to life.

‘The Undoing of Carmen’ is directed and created by Anna Sofie Keller Brandsborg and combines excerpts from the original opera with newly composed music. The opera is the first in a series of works that analyse opera classics with a critical eye.