Georges Bizet unfortunately died before he was able to see his last opera, Carmen, receive the vast praise it regularly gets today as one of the mainstays of most opera companies. Utah Opera is no exception, anchoring it’s 2009-2010 season around an explosive interpretation of this classic.

For one of the most popular operas in America, Carmen is a dark and fiery story about the deadly consequences of obsessive love and wanton passion. Set in Seville, Spain, the story follows a free-spirited gypsy named Carmen and the influence her entrancing love and attention has on an inexperienced soldier. Corporal Don José falls hard and ends up spurning his current lover, becoming insubordinate to his military superiors and eventually joins an unruly gang of smugglers. When Carmen in turn focuses her feminine charms towards a matador, Don José’s mad jealousy drives him to murder.

Utah Opera’s Carmen @ Capitol Theatre, 50 W. 200 South, January 16-24, 7:30 p.m., 801-533-NOTE, UtahSymphonyOpera.org