ticket in town: Bizet's opera "Carmen.'' In what is expected to be an outstanding Bermuda Festival production of this much-loved opera, which is set in Seville, Spain circa 1830, and has some of the most popular music of its genre, professional singers from Britain will be joined by Bermuda's own Marcelle Clamens, and Ron Campbell who is married to a Bermudian (the former Cindy Falkenberry), in the lead roles.

Lyric mezzo-sopranro Heather Shipp sings the title role of Carmen. The cast includes an adult chorus of 58 voices and a children's chorus of 25, all of them Bermuda residents, and many of them highly accomplished amateurs who are well known in local performances.

The 22-strong orchestra, led by the Menuhin Foundation's Kerry Haslam, includes other Foundation players as well as other resident professional musicians.

The opera is being directed by Mr. Mark Tinkler, and conducted by Mr. Mark Dorrell, both of whom are well known and highly respected in their respective fields in Britain. Mr. Tinkler is currently artistic director of the English Pocket Opera Company, and Mr. Dorrell makes his home here, where he teaches at the Bermuda School of Music.

Five well-known resident actors -- Roger Thompson, Chris Klauda, Keith Madeiros, Kelvin Hastings-Smith and Phillip Jones -- are also included in the line-up. With scenery professionally painted and flown in from Britain, and costumes flown in from Spain and elsewhere to add to those expertly crafted in Bermuda by a team of seamstresses led by costume co-ordinator Liz Campbell, the visual impact of "Carmen'' promises to be spectacular.

The producer is Mrs. Marjorie Stanton, president of the Gilbert & Sullivan Society.

"Carmen'' will be sung in English, and the three-hour performance begins at Ruth Seaton James Centre for the Performing Arts at 8 p.m. each night. There will be one interval of 20 minutes between Acts One and Two.

Performances run from tonight until February 18, excluding Thursday, February 15, and tickets are selling fast. For further information visit the Bermuda Festival box office next to the ferry terminal building on Front Street between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., or 292-8572.