A Vancouver Opera production. At the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on Saturday, January 24. Continues until February 5

Sex sells: cars, perfume, beer—and opera. Nowhere has this fact been more evident than at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on Saturday night, where a sold-out house of opera aficionados and newbies waited impatiently for the curtain to rise on Vancouver Opera’s Carmen, by Georges Bizet.

The tale of an unapologetically seductive gypsy woman who plays fast and loose with men’s hearts, set to catchy tunes, is always sure to put bums in seats. And when you’ve got Israeli mezzo-soprano Rinat Shaham in the title role, a woman who oozes sex appeal, you can be confident that not even Lil Wayne (who was playing GM Place, just a few blocks over) can keep the crowds away.

Shaham has been earning rapturous reviews for her Carmen, and for good reason. First off, she looks the part: almond eyes set above high cheekbones, dark curls cascading down her back, curves in all the right places—which, in this production, are shown off to full effect by corsets that accentuate her slim waistline and enhance her already ample bosom.

Then there’s the voice. Kathleen Turner–smoky and sensuous in the lower register, rich and luscious in the upper. But more than that, there’s her presence: confident, seductive, and fearless. Her slinky introductory “Habanera” aria came complete with sinewy dancing that included plenty of bared thigh, and things only got steamier from there.

The high point was undoubtedly the “Seguidilla” aria, during which Carmen seduces the hapless officer Don José played by tenor David Pomeroy, who quickly warmed up to deliver a stellar performance after a stilted first 10 minutes. But the sight of Shaham’s writhing body straddling Pomeroy in urgent passion during the Act 2 duet “Lí -bas, lí -bas dans la montagne” will live on in the minds of those lucky enough to be sitting front row.

Shaham did not carry the show on her own, although she could have. In addition to Pomeroy, whose depiction of a man slowly consumed by murderous jealousy was spot on, solid bass-baritone Daniel Okulitch was engaging as God’s-gift-to-women bullfighter Escamillo. And Mariateresa Magisano’s sweet, delicate soprano was perfectly matched to the role of the pious Micaí«la, who loses her intended, José, to Carmen’s clutches.

Sure, you could argue the work is opera lite, with its spoken dialogue, straightforward plot, and highly accessible music. But in the hands of a cast like this, with a lead as beguiling as Shaham, there’s no denying it: Carmen is truly hot stuff.