A dusty arena in the French village of Marsillargues seems like an improbable setting for Carmen. The crowd is dressed in patterned shirts and denim—Provençal rancher wear—instead of opera attire. Yet, when Bizet’s rousing song booms over the loudspeaker, the cheers aren’t for a robust tenor taking center stage, but rather a brawny black bull. This beast is the star of a centuries-old tradition in the southern region known as the Wild West of France. Straddling sport and spectacle, the course camarguaise is a friendly, not fatal, affair that blends…
