MUSIC: What’s opera, Doc? “Carmen,” live from La Scala

  If you're an opera lover who'd love to catch opening night at La Scala but just can't make it to Italy, you're in luck.

  This year, it's coming to a theater near you: Rave's Town Square 18, to be exact, where Bizet's "Carmen" will be shown in a high-definition digital telecast, direct from Milan, at 9 a.m. Monday, Dec. 7. (An encore presentation will show at 4:30 p.m. Admission for each show is $20.)

  Daniel Barenboim conducts Bizet's beloved opera of soldiers, smugglers, bullfighters — and a bewitching gypsy named Carmen. Jonas Kaufmann, Erwin Schrott, Anita Rachvelishvili and Adriana Damato lead the cast for La Scala's opening night — which is always Dec. 7, a Milan holiday honoring the city's patron saint, Sant’ Ambrogio. Reportedly, it's quite the gala, with heads of state, celebrities, as well as Italy’s elite certain to be in attendance.

  This showing of "Carmen" from La Scala is the first of six live high-definition Opera in Cinema presentations at Rave this season — three from La Scala and three from Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu. Next up: Verdi's "Il trovatore" on Dec. 22.

  For more information about this season's Opera in Cinema presentations — featuring such artists as Plácido Domingo, René Pape, Ben Heppner and Diana Damrau — check out www.operaincinema.com.