Lillas Pastia’s tavern on the outskirts of Sevilla.

Carmen and her friends Frasquita and Mercédès sing and dance for Zuniga, Moralès, the soldiers, and other gypsies at the tavern (Chanson bohème: “Les Tringles des sistres tintaient”). When the dance is over, Frasquita reports that the tavern must close up by order of the magistrate. Zuniga invites the women to come with them, but Frasquita says they will stay, and Carmen will not answer. Zuniga accuses Carmen of being annoyed with him because José is in prison. Then he informs her that José is now free, and Carmen is happy to hear it. As the soldiers are leaving, cheering is heard in the distance. Everyone joins in as Escamillo the matador sweeps in and recounts his latest triumph in the corrida, singing the famed “Toréador Song” (“Votre toast”). He is immediately drawn to Carmen and gallantly asks her name so that he might have it on his lips during his next bullfight. She plays hard-to-get but flirts with him nonetheless, annoying Zuniga, who leaves in a huff. Escamillo then departs, surrounded by his crowd of admirers.

Carmen, Frasquita, and Mercédès meet with their coconspirators, Le Dancaïre and Le Remendado, to plan a smuggling operation (Quintet: “Quand il s’agit de tromperie”). But Carmen will not join them in their venture, because she is in love. The others tease her, but she is resolute. As she explains that the man she loves is a soldier who went to prison for her, José is heard singing a dragoon song in the distance. The gypsies look outside; Frasquita and Mercédès think him handsome, and Dancaïre thinks he will make a good smuggler. Carmen promises to try to persuade him to come. The others then leave her to meet José alone.

José is thrilled to see Carmen again after two months in prison, but he becomes jealous when she tells him that she sang and danced for the soldiers. To calm him, she begins to dance for him, playing castanets. He interrupts her when he hears a bugle blowing, but Carmen thinks it a fine accompaniment and keeps dancing. José now insists that he must go to his quarters. Carmen flies into a rage and tells him that he does not really love her. To convince her that he does, he shows her the flower she threw to him and declares his passion for her (Flower Song: “La Fleur que tu m’avais jetée”).

Carmen says he must prove his love by coming with her to the mountains to live a life of freedom. He nearly succumbs to her but rouses himself and bids her farewell. As he is leaving, however, Zuniga knocks at the door. When no one opens it, he bursts in, sees José, and drunkenly chides Carmen for choosing a common soldier over an officer. He orders José to leave, but José refuses, and the men begin to fight. Carmen calls for help. Dancaïre, Remendado, and the rest of the gypsies appear and disarm Zuniga. Carmen mocks Zuniga for his bad timing, for now they must keep him with them to avoid being caught. Zuniga submits with good grace and is escorted out. At this point, José has no choice but to accompany the gypsies.

Act III

The smugglers’ encampment in the mountains.

Carmen and her friends cautiously make camp in their mountain hiding place. Dancaïre goes to make sure the way is clear for them to transport their contraband. José, meanwhile, dejectedly thinks of his mother down in the valley. Carmen, annoyed, tells him to go home to his mother. José begins to threaten her, and she tells him that perhaps he will kill her. When he refuses to answer, she remarks that it does not matter, for fate is the master. Frasquita and Mercédès read their fortunes in the cards; when Carmen does so, she sees only death in her future.

Dancaïre returns to report that the road is clear, but there are three customs agents nearby. He orders José to go up the mountain to watch their belongings. Carmen, Frasquita, and Mercédès suggest flirtatiously that they will take care of the customs agents (“Quant au douanier”).

Micaëla now arrives; José’s mother has sent her to look for him. But she is afraid, both of the smugglers and of Carmen, and asks God for protection (“Je dis que rien ne m’épouvante”). She sees José in the distance and calls to him, but he lifts his gun and fires at an intruder. She hides in fear.

José arrives, holding Escamillo, the intruder, at gunpoint. Escamillo introduces himself to José, who recognizes the bullfighter and greets him warmly, warning him that he ought to be more careful. Escamillo explains that his foolhardiness is due to his being in love with a gypsy named Carmen. José suppresses his shock as Escamillo relates that Carmen had loved a soldier who had deserted for her, but the affair was now over, for Carmen’s loves do not last more than six months. When José questions Escamillo, he declares that he loves her madly. José warns Escamillo that one must pay for taking a gypsy from her people, and when Escamillo gaily replies that he is willing to pay, José pulls out a knife. It dawns on Escamillo that José is the very soldier he’s been describing, and he takes out his own knife. José manages to get the advantage, but the fight is stopped by the arrival of Carmen and the others. Charmed to have had Carmen save his life, Escamillo invites everyone to the bullfight. He ambles off as Dancaïre and Remendado restrain José, who warns Carmen not to push him too far.

Suddenly Remendado notices a woman hiding nearby. José is shocked to see that it is Micaëla. She explains that she has come to find him for his mother’s sake and begs him to return home. Carmen urges him to do so. José accuses her of wanting to run off with a new lover and declares that they will never be separated. But he resolves to leave with Micaëla when she reveals that his mother is dying. As he leaves, he assures Carmen that they will see each other again. In the distance, Escamillo is heard singing his toreador song. When Carmen tries to join Escamillo, José threateningly bars her way. Then he goes off with Micaëla.