Forced to flee his home, the farmer’s son Don José has joined the army in Seville. At his mother’s request, his childhood friend Micaëla has followed him.

Act I
The soldiers pass the time gawking at the working women. They also harass Micaëla, who is looking for José. During a break at the tobacco factory, Carmen, one of the workers, draws everyone’s attentions and catches José’s eye. Micaëla only manages to distract him briefly before he is ordered to guard Carmen, who has been arrested for assault. José allows her to convince him to let her go and is immediately arrested himself as punishment.

Act II
Carmen and her friends Frasquita and Mercédès meet the smugglers Dancaïro and Remendado, who are planning a new coup at Lillas Pastia, a bar on the outskirts. The celebrated bullfighter Escamillo appears and takes an interest in Carmen. José, who has been released in the meantime, also declares his love for her. Her burgeoning affection for him fades when he decides to return to barracks. But when the jealous José injures his superior Zuniga, who is also striving for Carmen’s favor, he has no choice but to join the smugglers.

Act III - 1st Scene
Carmen and José are camped at the smugglers’ hideout. Carmen wants to end her relationship with José. She knows that she will soon die. As Escamillo appears and tries to win Carmen for himself, a fight breaks out between the two rivals that can only be settled with great difficulty. Micaëla persuades José to hurry to his dying mother.

Act III - 2nd Scene
The crowd is waiting for Escamillo, by now together with Carmen, before a bullfight. Frasquita and Mercédès warn Carmen about José. While the crowd watches the bullfight, the two confront each other. When Carmen refuses to return to José, he kills her.