While just visiting the Metropolitan Opera house presents its own special brand of theater — with the lush gilded gold and red velvet palette and eccentric men in tuxedos lingering over ladies in floor-length gowns — the classic opera “Carmen” by Georges Bizet presents limitless sensual pleasures within the house proscenium.
Though critics panned “Carmen” when Bizet died at the age of 36, his final work has become one of the most famous operas of all time. The titular character is a gorgeous gypsy working at a cigarette factory in Sevilla, Spain, where she meets an upright soldier, Don Jose, whom she seduces into a life of crime.
Ingeniously designed sets take up the entire eyeful of the Met’s stage, encouraging a completely absorbing experience. While a few audience members walked out at intermission, remarking on the libretto’s repetitive lyrics, those who love the music won’t likely find fault with any other piece of this alluring production.
‘Carmen’
Saturday, 8:30 p.m., and
select dates through May 1
Metropolitan Opera
50 Lincoln Center Plaza
$20-$375, 212-362-6000,
www.metoperafamily.org
