Conductor Louis Langrée once explained the ‘Opéra-Comique’ in these terms: “The Opéra-Comique comes from fairground theater, which is its strength.” Looking at the company’s many successes in bringing great operas into its repertoire—“Pelléas etMélisande,” “Mignon,” “Manon Lescaut”—, it seems that Langrée is right. “Carmen,” however, would at first appear to be a bit different. It is, by far, the most {…}