[1] There he joined the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School for two years[2] and became more interested in directing than acting when: But Misha Aster notes that: When Carsen was 25 Canadian Opera Company (COC) director Lotfi Mansouri invited him to work as assistant director on Tristan und Isolde, and this was followed directing two operas at the Guelph Spring Festival in Ontario, these being Peter Maxwell Davies' The Lighthouse and Benjamin Britten’s The Prodigal Son.
[1] Carsen started at the Grand Théâtre de Genève in 1987[clarification needed] and he stood out as a designer with the National Ballet of Canada.
[citation needed] Subsequently, Carsen staged Der Ring des Nibelungen by Richard Wagner in Cologne, Eugene Onegin at the Metropolitan Opera, Il Trovatore in Bregenz, Capriccio by Richard Strauss, Alcina by Handel and Rusalka at the Opera Bastille with Renée Fleming, The Magic Flute in Baden-Baden, La Traviata at La Fenice, Mefistofele at the San Francisco Opera and Der Rosenkavalier at the Salzburg Festival.
In addition, Carsen directed Sunset Boulevard and The Soldier's Tale with Sting, Vanessa Redgrave and Ian McKellen.
This five-company co-production includes Milan's La Scala, London's Covent Garden (where both companies gave performances in the 2012/13 season).