CVNC: An Online Arts Journal in North Carolina

Opera

North Carolina Opera: Bizet's Carmen

N.C. Opera's Carmen Offers Satisfying Consistency and Musicality – And in Record Time!
Opera Review by Roy C. Dicks, January 25, 2019

( Fri., Jan. 25, 2019 - Sun., Jan. 27, 2019 )

Performed by Aleks Romano, Carmen; Sean Panikkar, Don Jose; RIchard Ollarsaba, Escamillo, Fenlon Lamb, director; North Carolina Opera Orchestra; North Carolina Opera Chorus; Keitaro Harada, conductor

Memorial Auditorium at Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts, 2 E South St., Raleigh, NC 27601

Program

The alluring gypsy Carmen can have any man she wants and today she wants the army corporal Don José. But when she leaves him for a dashing bullfighter, the soldier’s obsessive attraction proves fatal. You’ll recognize all the melodies because every song is a hit—from the tempting “Habanera” to the seductive “Seguidilla” to the rousing “Toreador Song.” Bizet’s beguiling score along with the hypnotic dancing and pulsating human drama will make you powerless to resist this Carmen.