By William R. Wineke
Special To Channel 3000

It might just be another sign of the Apocalypse.

Friday night was "Bloggers Night" at the Madison Opera's production of "Carmen." Those who attended the opening night performance were greeted by five writers sitting at a "Bloggers" table, taping away on laptop computers.

If your stereotype of opera is of a rather stuffy affair populated by men in tuxedos and women in furs and jewels, a Bloggers' table is somewhat jarring. As were the Tania Tandies Flamenco Dancers performing on a stage in the lobby right up to show time and the booths selling CDs and opera glasses, little binoculars on sticks.

But the chaotic scene in the Overture Center lobby actually set the stage well for the sold-out performance about to take place in Overture Hall.

Carmen, Georges Bizet's opera about a gypsy woman and the men who pursue her, is set in the town square of Seville in the 1830s and, for three of the four acts, the action takes place either outside a cigarette factory or a bullfighting ring.

Carmen, the gypsy femme fatale, is arrested after a fight with another woman and an army corporal, Don Jose, is assigned to take her to jail. Instead, he lets her escape and serves her term in her place. Carmen briefly assumes she loves him and that love continues until she meets Escamillo, the bullfighter. You might suspect none of this will end well -- and it doesn't.

That's the story and it is set to some of the most familiar music in the classical world.

The production also offered one of the most exciting evenings in recent Madison Opera history. Following the performance, people who -- you have to trust me on this -- actually are frequent opera goers, were debating whether this was the "best" performance of "Carmen" they'd ever attended or merely "one of the best."

Mezzo-Soprano Kathryn Goeldner sang the title role beautifully and her acting enhanced our understanding of Carmen. Carmen often comes across as shallow. In Goeldner's presentation, Carmen comes across as conflicted. She convinces herself that Don Jose's sacrifice for her actually makes her love him, even though she knows -- as she sings frequently -- that she needs to be "free."

Don Jose is portrayed by tenor Adam Diegel, who sang for Madison in last summer's "Opera in the Park." The role calls for a Dudley Do-Right character and Diegel manages to bring a richness to the music without betraying the essential naivety of the love-struck Jose.

Also back in Madison for the second time this year is Hyung Yun, who sang the role of the bullfighter Escamillo. Yun played a smaller role in last spring's presentation of "Faust." In "Carmen," the Korean singer gives voice to a man's man, a cheerful, not-quite cocky hero who, like everyone else, seems enchanted by Carmen's free-spirit.

But there wasn't a mediocre performance in the entire, large, cast. In fact, the only thing that marred the production at all was a faint odor, one that resembled burning candles, that wafted through the hall during the first act.

The theater was sold out for Friday's performance. "Carmen" will be presented again Sunday at 2:30 p.m. As of Friday afternoon, only about 40 seats were still open.

As for the bloggers, Brian Hinrichs, the Madison Opera's communications manager, said "the aims of 'Blogger's Night' are pretty simple. We want to reach new audiences by bringing fresh voices into the conversation about opera. On the flip side, we want to bring new media outlets to the attention of our audience."

Fair enough. If the Madison Opera wants to excite people about opera, "Carmen" was a great place to start.