Utah Opera's Carmen

I have seen the opera Carmen, Bizet's classic tale of love and betrayal, several times and let me tell you that Utah Opera's current production is magnificent!  I had a chance to see it Monday night and I loved it!  As soldiers guard a factory in Seville, a peasant girl named Micaela (Sarah Tucker) comes looking for her childhood sweetheart, a new recruit named Don Jose (Dominick Chenes), with a letter from his mother begging him to come home.  After reminiscing about their home, she leaves.  The women who work in the factory come out for a break and one of them, a gypsy named Carmen (Elise Quagliata), flirts with the soldiers.  Jose ignores her but he secretly keeps the flower she tosses to him.  Carmen and another worker get in a fight and she is eventually sent to prison.  Jose is ordered to escort her there but she convinces him to let her escape with the promise of her love.  Jose is sent to jail for letting her go.  Meanwhile, the bullfighter Escamillo (Christian Bowers) comes to town and declares his love to Carmen but she refuses him because she loves Jose.  When Jose is released from prison, Carmen dances for him but he tells her he must return to the barracks when he hears the bugle sound.  Carmen is furious and Jose eventually deserts the army to be with her.  After a while, Carmen grows weary of Jose and, when Micaela comes to tell him that his mother is dying, she urges him to go to her.  Escamillo invites Carmen to watch him in a bullfight and she joins him in Seville.  Jose, still desperately in love with Carmen, follows her and, when she declares her love for Escamillo, he kills her.  It is so dramatic and the music is absolutely incredible, with some of the most recognizable melodies in the classical canon: the "Habanera" and the "Toreador Song."  Quagliata is an absolutely beguiling Carmen and she sings the role beautifully but I was also very impressed with her dancing.  Chenes is also excellent as Don Jose and I had goosebumps as he sang of his love for Carmen in Act 2 and Bowers is a lot of fun in the "Toreador Song."  I loved the vibrant costumes and the set design actually reminded me of the arena where I saw a bull fight in Spain!  I highly recommend this thrilling production!  It runs through Oct. 16 and tickets may be purchased here.