Performing the opera's title role in tomorrow's opening night performance will be Hadar Hal_vy, making her San Francisco Opera debut. Hal_vy was already engaged to sing Carmen in the production's alternate cast, and she will perform with that cast as originally scheduled on November 25, December 2 and December 8. (Her colleagues for those performances include Stuart Skelton as Don Jos_, Kristopher Irmiter as Escamillo and Adrienne Danrich as MicaêŠla; George Cleve, in his house debut, will conduct.)

A graduate of Tel Aviv University and the Juilliard School, Hadar Hal_vy has previously sung the role of Carmen at the New Israeli Opera, New York City Opera, the Saxon State Opera in Dresden (at the SemperOper), and the Teatro Politeama in Palermo. Other recent roles include Malcolm (in Donizetti's La donna del lago) and Adalgisa (in Bellini's Norma) at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa and the title roles in Handel's Ariodante (in Frankfurt) and Giulio Cesare (in Hamburg).

The replacement Carmen for Domashenko's remaining scheduled performances (November 24 and 29, December 3, 6 and 9) will be announced later. Others in that cast include Marco Berti as Don Jos_, Kyle Ketelsen as Escamillo, and Ana Mar‹a Mart‹nez as MicaêŠla; conducting will be Sebastian Lang-Lessing.

San Francisco Opera's current production of Carmen is by the late Jean-Pierre Ponnelle; the current revival is directed by Laurie Feldman Santoliquido. Information and tickets are available at www.sfopera.org.