Yesterday, Nae and I went to Cincinnati Opera's rendition of Bizet's Carmen, with Ruxandra Donose playing the role of Carmen.

It's easy to paraphrase Mencken and dismiss Carmen as "nothing more than a lot of old, well-known tunes strung together" because it has reached so deep into the collective consciousness of music and become prevalent in commercials, movies, cartoons, etc. In fact, when I was introducing Nae to the music last week she mentioned that she already knew parts of it and I even caught her humming along a couple of times last night.

But Carmen is not a simple opera, for all that it is the most popular. It is almost a requirement that the soprano be able to pat her head and rub her belly to pull off the dance sequence in Act II, and I am glad to say that Donose did a wonderful job. But the opera, for all it is named for Carmen and for all that Carmen is the impetus of it, is truly all about the downfall of Don José.

William Burden portrayed Don José, the tragic man who falls head over heels in love with Carmen. Mistaking her carefree love for a deeper, more meaningful one he gives over his previous beloved, Micaela, and plunges deeply into the world of Carmen, only to find that the grass was not only not as green but not even really grass on the other side of the fence. The opera traces his ever downward spiral as he gives things up for the woman he is obsessed with. Beginning with his commission as an officer and ending with his life, he sheds parts of his life and his sanity to try to capture the elusive butterfly that is Carmen.

Part of the life he sheds is Micaela, wonderfully played by Sandra Lopez. She carried of the role of an innocent who deeply loves a man who is increasingly lost to her with the perfect mix of innocence and caring and a beautiful voice.

Finally there is Escamillo, the Toreador who becomes Carmen's next love. A perfect mix of swagger, machismo and a booming voice led to his making the role his.

And let us not forget the CSO, providing a passionate backdrop to the whole.

But what really touched me in this production were parts that many people might overlook, the technical geniuses behind the scenes who touched our subconscious as the drama played out. The girls from the cigarette factory looked like they were all dressed the same but, when they streamed out of the factory to call upon the guards because Carmen was fighting another girl, I realized that the two factions of girls actually had slightly different outfits, to subtly emphasize the differences between the two groups.

And the lighting. Bravo to Thomas Hase for a job well-done! From the stark white square on the floor crossed with black stripes that opened the second Act and represented Don José's jail, a room as ephemeral and mental as the jail he was tortuously placing himself in throughout the opera. And the last act, where the final confrontation of Don José and Carmen occurs, was sheer genius. When the confrontation begins, Burden and Donose are standing on a darkened stage in separate spotlights, representative of the fact that their positions are so starkly different.

Even as Carmen explains to Don José, as she steps out of her spotlight to comment on reality, Don José is imprisoned in his spot, in his mental bedlam. Even when he steps out to confront her, the spot stayed put for a bit, as though it represented a place that Don José could not get away from.

Finally, as Carmen pushes his buttons, as the scene unfolds to the only conclusion possible, the stage darkened once more to a blood-red outside of the brilliant white spot wherein Carmen and Don José have their final embrace; a last look at the blood-tinged world from within the clarity of Don José's madness.

I had the privilege of sitting next to a first time opera attendee. Her comment was simply, "Wow!" When I asked if she'd be back, she nodded enthusiastically.

All in all, I think this was a wonderful performance and look forward to next season.