ALWAYS on the move, opera producer Ellen Kent has returned from Moldova clutching a new touring production of Bizet's Carmen by Chisinau National Opera.

That tour, mounted by her company Ellen Kent and Opera International, visits the Grand Opera House in York on Sunday.

The British-Eastern European co-production marks a first for Ellen.

"Director Nick Hogarth has been out there for a month working on the production, and it's the first time we've done that," she says. "With two British-based soloists, Rosa Lee Thomas and Dominic Natoli, also doing it, it's been very interesting."

This production of Bizet's hot-blooded opera is to be sung in French with English surtitles and features a new set by Felix Bessonov based on the city of Seville. His design incorporates a replica of the city square with a water fountain and orange trees, and Ellen has contributed her own knowledge to the design project. "I did put my ideas into the design having lived in Seville in my teenage years," she says.

Will the fountains cause a problem? "We did Madama Butterfly last year and ne'er a drop was spilled. This time we've been talking to the fountain workshop in the Historic Dockyard at Chatham for advice, and we'll be using fibreglass to prevent water, water everywhere," says Ellen.

She is far happier with this Carmen than a production she brought to Britain a few years ago. "That show was absolutely dire and I felt that if I was to bring over another Carmen it needed to be more modern because Carmen is a modern opera," she says. "Carmen works better for being modernised, and this production definitely has a modern feel to it."

Carmen, Chisinau National Opera, Grand Opera House, York, Sunday, 7.30pm. Tickets: £19.50 to £32; ring 01904 671818.