Ever since I was a little girl, I have always had a love for performance productions whether it’d be on the streets or a show on Broadway. However, I never had the opportunity to watch an opera and so I had great expectations for the production of Carmen. I wasn’t sure what to expect but as soon as I laid eyes on the beautiful building of the Lincoln Center and attire of the people there, I got the sense that this was a lot more sophisticated than the shows that I have seen before.

As I took my seat, I noticed that the curtain was filled black with one striking red line running up it. Thankfully, because of the research we did prior to the show, I was able to understand that the red line exemplified Carmen herself. Red, the color of sexuality and desire, represents Carmen’s promiscuity.

The setting of the stage was absolutely stunning. The two brick walls that had to be at least two stories high broke apart and aligned with ease and smoothness. The costumes worn by the performers were beautiful as well, even the ones worn by the lower class. I really liked how the costumes easily defined the social status of every character. The cigarette factory workers wore duller colors whereas the high standing characters, more specifically, Escamillio, wore bright colors with expensive accessories like fur and feather.

Music played a huge role throughout the entire opera, well, obviously. The way in which soprano and tenor were assigned to Carmen and Don Jose, respectively, musically illustrated their relationship has woman and man. The soprano part that was sung by Micaela showed competition between her and Carmen as women who both desired Don Jose’s love. My favorite part musically was how they utilized the flute to represent delicateness and femininity of Mercedes and Frasquita.

I thoroughly enjoyed Bizet’s production of Carmen and I’m glad that this was my first experience watching an opera.