Love gone sour and a woman scorned.

Oops, make that a man scorned and you have the ingredients for the ballet “Carmen.”

A young Spanish soldier falls in love with the fiery gypsy Carmen. Deserting his post, he joins a band of smugglers. But, Carmen soon falls for the bullfighter Escamillo.

Then, love turns fatal when Don Jose confronts Carmen at the bullring.

That’s the soap-opera-style tale audiences will become a part of when the St. Petersburg Ballet Theatre of Russia presents the national touring production of “Carmen” Wednesday, Jan. 30, in the Northwest Missouri State University Performing Arts Center.

“We still have seats in the orchestra and balcony,” says Angel McAdams Prescott, director of campus activities. And there are discounts for groups of 10 or more.

The Russian ballet will kick off the university’s 2008 Encore Series season.

“One of our missions is to bring the arts to Northwest Missouri,” McAdams Prescott says. “You’re not getting that kind of event anywhere else in the area.”

The performance, McAdams Prescott says, features high-caliber entertainment that one would find in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York. Most of the dancers, as well as the company’s teachers and coaches ,studied at the prestigious Vaganova Ballet Academy.

Although students are encouraged to attend, “The Encore Series is especially intended as an offering to the public,” says Anthony Brown, news bureau manager at Northwest.

McAdams Prescott says that it’s about a 50/50 split of students and the general public who attend Encore performances.

Other shows in the Encore Series include “Ring of Fire,” featuring the music of the late Johnny Cash, on Feb. 11, and The Parsons Dance Company, featuring modern dance, on March 13.

Curtain call

What: “Carmen,” a ballet performance by the St. Petersburg Ballet Theatre of Russia

When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 30

Where: Performing Arts Center on the Northwest Missouri State University campus in Maryville

Cost: $20 orchestra and $18 balcony (Northwest students with a valid ID can purchase tickets for $15 and $13) and $12 for children under 12. Groups of 10 or more can purchase tickets at a discounted price. To purchase tickets, call (660) 562-1212 or log on to http://www.nwmissouri.edu/tickets/. For group discount order form, call (660) 562-1226 or e-mail oca@nwmissouri.edu. Tickets may also be purchased at the Student Services Center in the Administration Building from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday or at the door the day of the performance.