Denver’s spectacular new opera house will host its first actual opera this coming week, and Opera Colorado, the venue’s principal tenant, is pulling out all the stops with a major production of Bizet’s Carmen starring none other than mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves. “In a daring departure from its usual practice, Opera Colorado is presenting eight performances of Carmen – twice as many as normal. And it already appears the gamble has paid off. A little more than a week before Thursday’s opening, the company had already sold 70 percent of its available tickets, and Rex Fuller, director of marketing, expects at least some of the performances will sell out.”