ACT I
A contemporary American industrial town. Outside a cigarette factory, a young woman, Micaëla, asks for a soldier named Don José. Moralès, his colleague, tells her that José will return when the next shift begins. When the shift change and José returns, Moralès tells him that Micaëla has been looking for him. The factory bell rings, and the men gather to watch the female workers—especially their favourite, Carmen. She tells the men that love is free and obeys no rules. Carmen throws a flower at José, he picks up the flower and hides it when Micaëla returns. She brings a letter from José’s mother. He is about to throw away the flower when a fight erupts inside the factory between Carmen and another woman. The commanding officer Zuniga sends José in to remove Carmen. She refuses to answer Zuniga’s questions, and José is ordered to lock her up. Left alone with him, she entices José with suggestions of a rendezvous. Mesmerized, José agrees to let Carmen escape, and he is arrested for his actions. 


ACT II
Carmen and her friends Frasquita and Mercédès entertain a group of locals who have gathered in the cargo hold of a tractor-trailer truck to party. Zuniga tells Carmen that José has just been released from custody. Escamillo, a rodeo star, drives along the freeway with his entourage. People spill out onto the road, listening to Escamillo boasting about his profession. He flirts with Carmen, but is rejected by her. Most of the partiers depart with Escamillo, leaving Carmen and her friends with the smugglers Dancaïre and Remendado, who try to convince the women to get involved in their smuggling scheme. Frasquita and Mercédès are willing to help, but Carmen refuses. Dancaïre and Remendado withdraw as José approaches. Carmen arouses his jealousy by telling him how she danced for Zuniga. She dances for José now, but he says that he must return to duty. Carmen mocks him. To prove his love, José shows her the flower that she threw at him when they met. She is unimpressed: If he really loved her, he would join her in a life of freedom in the mountains. José refuses, and Carmen tells him to leave. Zuniga arrives at the gas station looking for Carmen, and in a jealous rage, José fights him. The smugglers return and disarm Zuniga. José, having assaulted his superior officer, now has no choice but to join them.


INTERMISSION


ACT III
The truck has crashed at a high mountain pass. Women are climbing out of the back of the shattered truck as smugglers start to remove large boxes of guns to bring them across the border. Carmen and José quarrel, and she admits that her love is fading and advises him to return to live with his mother. When Frasquita and Mercédès turn the cards to tell their fortunes, they foresee love and money for themselves, but Carmen’s cards spell death. Micaëla appears, frightened to meet the woman who has turned José into a criminal. She hides when a shot rings out—José has fired at an intruder, who turns out to be Escamillo. He tells José that he has come to find Carmen, and the two men fight. The smugglers separate them, and Escamillo invites everyone to see him compete in the next rodeo. When he has left, Micaëla emerges and begs José to return home. He agrees when he learns that his mother is dying, but he warns Carmen that they will meet again.


ACT IV
In a vast rodeo arena, a vibrant and noisy crowd gathers. Carmen arrives on Escamillo’s arm. Frasquita and Mercédès come to warn her that José is nearby. Unafraid, she waits outside the entrance. José appears and begs Carmen to forget the past and start a new life with him. She calmly tells him that their affair is over: She was born free and will live free until she dies. The crowd is heard cheering Escamillo. José persists in trying to win Carmen back. She takes off his ring and throws it at his feet. José stabs her to death.