It is 1875, and George Bizet's new opera, Carmen,, is opening at the Opera Comique, in Paris. All the "best people" are there, but they have not come to hear the music -- rather it is "amour" which they have on their minds.

This comedy of manic manners is played out in a corridor of the opera house, outside three private boxes. The usher, Odile, must keep track of the theatre patrons, their criss-crossing storylines, mistaken identity scenarios and risque fun that are all staples of a frothy French farce.

In the middle of all the naughty nonsense is Bizet, who nervously awaits the public's response to his beloved opera.