Carmen (Lasky-Paramount, 1915) stars famed Metropolitan Opera soprano Geraldine Farrar in her most famous role on stage and screen. Her high-spirited and erotic performance dominates this vibrant film adaptation of Prosper Merimee͛s story and Georges Bizet's opera. Also featured in the cast are the tragic matinee idol Wallace Reid and DeMille's long-time collaborator Jeanie Macpherson. Produced on a relatively modest scale, Carmen shares much with DeMille's earlier work and anticipates his more mature efforts. Following her triumphant success with the 1914-1915 Metropolitan Opera season, Geraldine Farrar was forced to cancel her annual European concert tour due to the war. Producer Jesse Lasky jumped at the chance of signing the opera star for three pictures to be made in Hollywood and personally directed by Cecil B. DeMille. Despite DeMille's concerns that Farrar, a master of the ͚grand͛ performance and gesture of the stage, would not be comfortable in front of the movie camera, she was a natural. Charming, believable and capable of great range, she lit up the screen just as she created excitement on the operatic stage.