Carmen

North Carolina Opera brings Bizet's Carmen to the Memorial Auditorium at Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts on Friday, October 16, and Sunday, October 18. It's one of the most recognizable stories in opera, and if you've never seen it, this is a good place to start. The plot follows a fiercely independent woman who pulls a soldier into her orbit, and the obsession that follows spirals into jealousy, betrayal, and tragedy, all carried by bold melodies and rhythms that most people recognize even if they've never stepped foot in an opera house.

On stage, Gina Perregrino takes the title role of Carmen, with Eric Taylor as Don José, Laureano Quant as Escamillo, and Elana Gleason as Micaëla. The supporting cast includes Christian Simmons as Zuniga, Yazid Gray as Moralès and Le Dancaïre, Gretchen Bruesehoff as Frasquita, Sarah Neal as Mercédès, and Scott Wichael as Remendado. Joseph Mechavich conducts the orchestra, and Denyce Graves directs the production. The opera is sung in French, with English translations projected above the stage so you can follow the story in real time.

There's a bit of history behind it, too. Bizet's Carmen uses a libretto by Ludovic Halévy and Henri Meilhac, based on Prosper Mérimée's novella of the same name, and it had its world premiere at the Opéra-Comique in Paris on March 3, 1875. The whole thing runs about two hours and 45 minutes, including one 20-minute intermission.

If you go on Friday, there's something extra. It's a Community Night at the Opera, which includes a pre-show talk by Marcus Pyle, Ph.D., titled "Seduction and the Body in Carmen," where he'll talk through the opera's history and the dangerous women it helped birth. The Friday performance is at 7:30 PM, and the Sunday matinee is at 2:00 PM, both at the Memorial Auditorium, 2 E. South St. in downtown Raleigh. Tickets run from $33.08 to $254.87.