I feel like Don José. Despite my first critical assessment of Carmen, now that I've seen her close-up I find myself falling in love with her.

That's the effect of Elina Garanca, the Latvian mezzo-soprano who stars in the title role of the Metropolitan Opera's new production. Almost all my reservations were swept away when seeing her on a big movie screen.

Carmen attracted the biggest theater audience ever when it was shown in 1000 cinemas in North America, Latin America and Europe last week. Encore screenings in America and other parts of the world will bring the total audience close to a half million. Then it will be aired on television and eventually issued on DVD. Although I saw the production at the Met a few days earlier, this was an entirely different experience. And, of course, this is the version that will be seen by far more people.

Garanca is a beautiful woman. In addition, she uses subtle glances and facial movements effectively. She projects lots of personality with an economy of gesture. Glimpses of breast and of thigh added to her allure.

Gary Halvorson, who directed this production for television, deserves credit too. His camera work highlighted dramatic moments such as Don José exchanging a bloody handclasp as he pledged solidarity with the smugglers, and his thrusting of a knife into the ground an inch away from Carmen's face during their final confrontation. He also maneuvered his cameras effectively in the crowd scenes. This was the most visually exciting of all Met HD transmissions so far.

Garanca's singing and vocal interpretation are excellent too, with nice shading and coloring. My new love is not quite perfect, only human. She loses projection in lower passages, as on the word "fini" in the final duet where she dropped from a strong G to a weak middle C. Garanca is best at the top of her range.

The movie-theater transmission provided another pleasant surprise when Teddy Tahu Rhodes replaced an indisposed Mariusz Kwiecien as the toreador. Rhodes is a tall, slender New Zealander who looks like a matinee idol and his voice is darker and more exciting than the singer who fell ill. Rhodes made his debut with the Met in Peter Grimes in 2008 and is scheduled for more appearances as Escamillo in the Spring.

On this repeated viewing I again was impressed with Roberto Alagna's moving portrayal of Don José and with Yannick Nézet-Séguin's conducting. When you read about a conductor's pliancy and expressiveness, you may think those are code words for slowness and for indulging singers' egos. Not so in this case. Listen, for example, to the steady build-up from the quietness of the Flower Song to the conclusion of that act when José joins Carmen and the chorus on the ringing high Cs of "la liberté!" It's a beautifully-calibrated, ten-minute dramatic crescendo.