A young boy is chasing after his ball whilst playing and encounters his destiny. The story begins. In front of the gates of a tobacco factory, where young men are passing the time, José is on guard. The workers appear and in the middle of them is Carmen: confident, defiant and desired by men, she masters the art of seduction. José doesn’t know what’s happening when Carmen throws him, of all people, a flower as she is leaving. She has chosen him! When José realises that the boy is watching him daydream, he leaves. In the factory, the atmosphere of aggression and competition amongst the women is heating up. An argument breaks out. Carmen attacks a woman in the face with a knife. José leads Carmen away but she has captivated him and he lets her go. José is degraded and humiliated by Zúñiga. From the background, José watches how a party is held in honour of the toreador at which Carmen also appears. Carmen’s desire in erotic playfulness with Zúñiga and the toreador is clear to see yet afterwards she still thanks José. Lightness and passion, temptation and desire merge. After the love play, it is over for José. Was it a dream? That she is now leaving him again fills him with despair and when he later encounters Carmen and Zúñiga "in flagranti" he shoots his rival in front of Carmen’s eyes – and the boy.

José flees … 

… pursued by the shadows of his guilt, José plunges into an abyss of darkness.

Once again, José encounters Carmen – yet he cannot keep hold of her, is plagued by the shadows and must watch how she becomes friendly with the toreador. His jealously grows immeasurably. In between: a dream of deceptive happiness in which Carmen, José and the young boy evoke an idyll which has long disappeared. The shadows grow, the toreador dances a final pas de deux with Carmen and vanishes. José stabs Carmen.

A broken lover and a conflicted child remain.

The first scene is set in a street in Seville, where the dancing of a crowd is interrupted by a girl being chased by Carmen. Their fight is only stopped by the arrival of Don José, who assists Carmen's defeated opponent. As he is about to arrest Carmen he is struck by her allure and arranges an assignation for later. That evening in the tavern Don José enters and dances a zapateado to the music of the habanera. Carmen next appears and dances, ending at Don José's feet; he lifts her up and they go up to the bedroom. The customers dance and when Carmen and Don José return they join in before José wraps Carmen in his cape and they go off.

The third scene is in Carmen's bedroom. After a passionate duet, three of Carmen's friends come in and invite her to go outside. At night in the street, Carmen, Don José and the friends prepare to rob a passer-by. Using a dagger Carmen has given him, Don José stabs a man, and after the women have taken his purse, they all flee.

The final scene is set outside the bull-ring where girls await the arrival of their hero, the toreador. He enters and greets them but is fascinated by the indifference shown by Carmen. José enters and notices their looks. The toreador moves into the arena whereupon Don José threatens Carmen, and in a fight to the death he overcomes her. As she dies, hats are tossed from the bull-ring to land at his feet.