Rowena Smith [The Guardian, 30 May 2006]

Patrice Caurier and Moshe Leiser's Carmen has been a sound investment for the two companies for whom it was created - both Scottish Opera and Welsh National Opera are reviving it in coming months. In Scotland, thanks to the recently implemented smoking ban, this is a production without cigarettes, something of a challenge in the first act, which takes place outside the gates of a factory that produces them. However, revival director Aidan Lang's solution of wafting some smoke in from the wings is an elegant one; you can't see the factory, but you can smell it, which adds to the sensuous appeal of this production.