Customer Reviews

Bizet: Carmen [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I had great expectations for this DVD. First reviews were very good; secondly the cast promised great things on paper. For once it isn't necessary to hedge, qualify or equivocate in reviewing a DVD. I know the opera is called Carmen and Antonacci is wonderful, sexy vital and sings quite beautifully. My greatest enthusiasm. however, must go to Jonas Kaufmann's Don Jose. Quite simply it is the best sung and acted Jose I have ever seen or heard. Kaufmann clearly has thought about the character and the music as so much intelligence has gone into the creation we see on stage that I simply can't see it being bettered. Here is a tenor with brains, imagination and the intelligence to see light and shade in Jose's music. Most tenors go at full throttle, screaming out high notes and generally think that Jose is a verismo tenor. Well, he isn't; he is a complex conflicted man and Kaufmann brings this all to the character. The imagination he brings to the Flower Song is even better than Gedda's first go around with the role with Beecham conducting; by the time he recorded it a second time he was content to play the "tenor" to his Carmencita, Maria, content with going for volumn alone.

The remainder of the cast is more than first rate, with a fine Michaela from Norah Ansellem and Ildebrando D'arcangelo a properly arrogant Escamillo. Pappano provided wonderful support with the ROH playing beautifully.

The edition used was Oeser which has been savaged by music scholars and critics. I am not a scholar and will make no pretense at being one. But I was thrilled that much of the dialogue was returned and the dreadful recits which are dull musically discarded. And even though the cast had only one native French speaker (I have been told that Ansellelm is French) great effort has been made on the part of the artists to speak the language as very recognizable French. The old French Columbia set which appeared around 1950 established a document that showed how the French would perform Carmen. It wasn't just that the singing was good, but authentic, a groups of singers of a school of singing and acting that no longer exists today. This performance comes closer to that ideal than any I have heard or seen.

Anna Caterina Antonacci is my favorite "Carmen" yet! She is a fabulous
singer and a an excellent actress as well. She also has the looks for
a truly believable Carmen. Jonas Kaufman, as Don Jose, is excellent.
This is my first introduction to his work, and he has a wonderful rich
voice. I never thought anyone could equal Samuel Ramey as the matador
Escamillo, but Ildebrando D'Arcangelo does! He plays the part with relish,
and I love his strong beautiful voice. I like the matador moves he displays in the choreography for his introductory "Toreador" song. This
opera is great fun. I own two other very good "Carmen" dvd's. One is the
Agnes Baltsa, Carreras and Ramey version and the other is the relatively
recent Carmen that was filmed in Verona with Marina Domashenko and Marco
Berti. This new one, starring Antonacci and Kaufman, is my favorite of the
three. Everything is perfect! It is so much fun to watch and listen to!
Highly recommended!

I am pleased that I could have seen this superb production. Chemistry between Carmen and Don José works at 100 %. And especially I must compliment performance of Jonas Kaufmann as Don José. He to perfection included the whole psychology of Don José - from amorousness and apprehension to jealousy and madness. I recommend this great DVD.

Until I saw this version, my preferred Carmen was the Rossi film with Julia-Migenes and Placido Domingo. But this is even better. Antonacci is an even more sultry Carmen with a great voice and a superb actress. Kaufmann is handsome and a much better actor than Placido. D'Arcangelo is an extremely virile Escamillo. Plus, the sets and direction create an intimate, intense production. Add to that the wide-screen and superb sound of the blu-ray and you have everything that a video opera should be. Buy this! You won't regret it in any way!

Oh, yes, the conductor had a few 'mishaps' in certain places, and the supporting cast of Micaela and Escamillo are not nearly as good as the leading roles of Carmen and Jose, but overall, this production is about the most entertaining and riveting available on DVD so far, and the 'smaller' roles of the Gipsy camp, are in fact nearly as good as the two leading ones.
Antonacci is a 'soprano' Carmen - this is the first time I see and hear about her, and the impression is not as bad as some critics would allege. Though she is no Berganza, Baltsa, Kasarova, Borodina..., she is every bit as good as Grace Bumbry (with Jon Vickers), and tons better than Julie Migens (with Domingo).
Then Kaufmann's Jose is nothing short of a revelation. I don't see why an opera singer would need to do funny things on stage in order to attract attention or 'upgrade' his/her performance. Kaufmann chiefly 'park and bark', as one diva says and claims that it would not work for modern day opera singing. HOWEVER, Kaufmann's way of 'parking' and 'barking' is intrinsically linked with the role that he is singing. There is absolutely no need for a singer to dance around the stage, or doing all sorts of 'funny' things like twisting of body truncks, throwing up of limbs, or grimacing of features, or dressing up in outrages outfits. No - none of such nonesense. Mr. Kaufmann teaches opera singers what ACTING is. I wonder if he has been to a drama school, but would not be surprised if he is being honored by such an institution for his superb stagecraft. And these are on top of his absolutely wonderful voice and singing.
Oh, yes, you will definitely regret if you miss this DVD.

In plain English, Jonas Kaufmann steals the show. Not that everyone else is not good, but he is so intense in his singing and acting that the performance becomes exciting and electrifying when he is on stage. Buy it--you'll like it.

If they give awards for opera performances, Anna Caterina Antonacci as Carmen and Jonas Kaufmann as Don Jose are surely both deserving of the highest honors. The singing, acting and sizzling passion between them in this production is extraordinary! I am a big admirer of Jonas Kaufmann and he was simply wonderful in this role. But, I've got to say, I was unexpectedly blown away by Anna Caterina Antonacci! I've seen her sing and act very expressively in a few Don Giovanni productions as Elvira, but I guess a role like Carmen is required in order to truly cut loose. And she did. Jonas Kaufmann I've compared to Placido Domingo before and here he sounds just as powerful and promising. The energy expended in the final act between these two was explosive.

Ildebrando D'Arcangelo was a gorgeous Escamillo entering on a gorgeous black horse. He was a perfect foil for Jonas Kaufmann. Norah Amsellem is a powerful singer with the intensity of an Isolde or a Brunnhilde, so to hear her cast as the shy, village girl Micaela is a little disconcerting. She has enough power and presence to be Carmen. But, I'm not complaining; she was excellent.

The supporting cast and chorus were terrific. The orchestra was perfect.

This is a marvelous Carmen. You'll love it!

The re-instated spoken dialogues are a great addition to the drama unfolding on stage. Kaufman is a great Don Jose. Don Jose's transformation from a serene and controlled soldier to a passionate lover and ultimately to the killer of the source of his almost delirium is dynamically portrayed by Kaufman acting and singing. A real treat. Antonacci as Carmen, that free spirited gypsy that not even in love was willing to give her freedom, captivates you from the start and doesn't let it go through the whole opera.
The cast and the production succeed in creating a great drama which the beautiful music is part of. If only the noise created by the cast entering and leaving the stage could be avoided or suppressed.
A great production that Bluray resolution makes it wonderful. Highly recommended for all, first timers as well as well versed in Carmen productions.

Astonishing performances from the two central leads makes this the most dramatically impressive performance on DVD, in my opinion. If you are looking for musicality and dramatic intensity of the highest order - which lifts this old warhorse out of the realm of sentimental cliche into a sphere akin to tragedy - then this is the one. The set is a very striking burnished orange and gold, the costumes have an authentic period look stripped of any glitzy romanticism. This may not be to everyone's taste but I found the overall effect to be very satisfying dramatically. Every now and then a production comes along that enables you to experience a classic piece as if for the first time. This is what Kaufman (the finest Don Jose on stage today) and Antonacci have done for me with this Carmen, to the point where I barely noticed any limitations of the production.

"Carmen" is one of the most popular operas ever written. Its tunes are instantly recognizable even to people who have never heard any opera. Yet, be honest ... when was the last time you ever saw a good performance of Carmen? Partly it is because the title role of "Carmen" is so difficult (nearly damned well impossible, actually) to pull off successfully. It's hard to make her seem like a believable character rather than a caricature of a vampish femme fatale. Her two most famous arias ("Habanera" and "Seguidille") establish her character but little else. I think of the role as a great painting if one took away all the paint and color and was only left with the black-and-white outlines. The singer must fill in the color and vibrancy herself. Don Jose is also a difficult role -- if one thinks hard about it, his actions border on psychotic, yet he is given some of the most heart-rending music ever written.

This performance, filmed at the Royal Opera House, is finally a video of Carmen that I can call an unmitigated success. I am fond of the old film with Miguenes and Domingo but that film is lip-synched to a pre-recorded track and thus has a certain artificiality to it. This video has all the frisson of a live performance. Anna Caterina Antonacci is simply spellbinding in the title role of Carmen. Antonacci is a soprano rather than a mezzo, but her voice is dark and rich enough to sound right as Carmen. I wouldn't say that she blows anyone away with her "Habanera" or "Seguidille," but it's the overall impact of her performance that counts. She makes Carmen sexy, dangerous, cruel, beautiful, someone who uses her sexuality to manipulate men. Even when she's the most seductive, one can sense a hardness and cruelty.

Jonas Kaufmann gives a demented performance as Don Jose. He enters the opera with a permanent frown on his face. He is clearly a moody and disturbed young man from the start. What is most unique about Kaufman is his timbre. It's dark and almost baritonal sounding. "La fleur que tu m'avais jetee" is heartrending, and he's one of the few tenors to observe the marking and attack the climactic high B flat softly. As with Antonacci, his is a fully rounded portrait, never more so than in the final duet. Just the way he desperately sings "Carmen" as he pleads for her love will give you the chills.

Ildebrando D'Arcangelo is a name I had not heard before this performance but he makes a fine Escamillo -- his role is very brief but he is handsome and sings well. If the performance has a weakness it is Norah Ansellem's Micaela. She does nothing to make Micaela interesting and is often woefully under the pitch. To be honest every time I was onstage I just couldn't wait for her to leave.

The costumes of the production are colorful and evocative of the era. The only thing I did not like was the sets. It is one of those "box" productions that are so popular nowadays -- the same three-cornered box serves as Seville's town square, the tavern, the mountains, and then the final scene outside the bull ring. Changes of scenery are marked by changes in lighting and stage props. I can understand why directors like how convenient the "box" is but I wish they had been more imaginative.

But these are minor flaws. Antonacci and Kaufmann are both demented and they sing their hearts out. Highly recommended.