Virginia Opera stages 'Carmen'

An opera company is unlikely to have a triumph, in the critical sense, by staging "Carmen," but Georges Bizet's story of passion and murder will fill a house. It worked for Virginia Opera, which staged the opera on Friday night at George Mason University Center for the Arts. With some talented singers and a handsome production, updated by director Tazewell Thompson to Franco-era Spain, it was bound to be a crowd-pleaser.