
Before “Sex and the City” Samantha put the panache back in promiscuity, the sultry libertine of choice was the hard-hearted gypsy at the center of George Bizet’s revered opera Carmen. She seduces the impressionable Don José and then casts him aside for the guy in the toreador pants (Escamillo), who’s actually a bullfighter, not just a trendy dresser. For the title role, the Florentine Opera taps Audrey Babcock, previously seen here in 2010’s Rigoletto. Rising star and crossover sensation Noah Stewart plays Don José.
Carmen (Oct. 26 and 28). Florentine Opera. Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. Uihlein Hall. 929 N. Water St., 414-291-5700, florentineopera.org.
