Bizet: Carmen

Georges Bizet (Composer), Sir Georg Solti (Conductor), London Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra), Tatiana Troyanos (Performer), Plácido Domingo (Performer), José van Dam (Performer), Kiri Te Kanawa (Performer), Norma Burrowes (Performer), Jane Berbié (Performer), John Alldis Choir (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Tatiana Troyanos, Plácido Domingo, José van Dam, Kiri Te Kanawa, Norma Burrowes, et al.
• Orchestra: London Philharmonic Orchestra
• Conductor: Sir Georg Solti
• Composer: Georges Bizet
• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• SPARS Code: ADD
• Number of Discs: 3
• Label: London
• ASIN: B0000041QH
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #23,784 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #3 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Voices > Baritones
  • #7 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Divas > Te Kanawa, Kiri
  • #7 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Divas > Troyanos, Tatiana

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Tatiana Troyanos was reportedly never comfortable on stage as Carmen, but she sings it ravishingly well in this recording, in good voice and at home with the character. Placido Domingo, seemingly the only Don José of our era, gives one of his best accounts of the role; Dame Kiri Te Kanawa sings beautifully as Micaëla, and Jose van Dam's Escamillo offers just the right blend of macho swagger. The dialogue is unusually well done, and Georg Solti's conducting, though lacking some Gaelic wit, gets the serious parts spot-on. --Sarah Bryan Miller

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fast and "Boomy", April 21, 2000

By 

dcreader (Washington DC area) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Bizet: Carmen (Audio CD)

I've given up on the notion that there's only "one" best recording of an opera. Certainly, there are classics, e.g. Callas' Tosca. Still, there is so much variation in opera in terms of multiple singers, an orchestra, etc. that it's hard to tell someone they should prefer one to another. Everyone finds something different in the same opera that appeals to them. That said, I find this Carmen extremely appealing. Troyanos has a "dusky" voice that sounds like she really COULD have worked in a cigarette factory. Domingo, is, well, Domingo. Solti's conducting is at it's usual quick tempo, which is particuarly suited to Carmen. I think the reviewer below who preferred the "Gaelic" recording of Abbado might have a good point. Carmen, although written by a Frenchman, is set in Spain of course. So, having a "Spanish" as opposed to a "French" sound shouldn't deter. All in all, very rewarding! (Caveat: the Penguin guide qualifies the third star it gives this recording on the grounds that the orchestral bass is "boomy." I agree, but think it adds rather than detracts in Carmen, which I prefer to be played fast and "boomy." Again, that's a matter of personal preference...)

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best "Carmen" I have EVER heard..., March 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Bizet: Carmen (Audio CD)

I first checked this CD out from my local library after seeing the Met's version of the perenially popular opera a couple of years ago. As I listened to the beginning of the Habanera, I heard this astonishingly beautiful voice float through the words. Continuing to listen, I became more and more enchanted with the voice of the wonderful Tatiana Troyanos. The complete recording was one of my best Christmas presents this year! Having listened to several other Troyanos recordings since then, I have come to the conclusion that she is ranked VERY highly on my list of favorite mezzo-sopranos, and that I only hope that if I perform this role, I can bring the same sheer beauty of voice to it that she did. Viva Troyanos!

66 of 76 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good Carmen., December 10, 1999

By 

J. Luis Juarez Echenique "pepechenique" (Mexico City) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Bizet: Carmen (Audio CD)

This recording of CARMEN was meant for Teresa Berganza, but when DECCA cut rehearsal time she withdrew, and Troyanos came to the rescue. It is certainly a very good Carmen, and I rate it as one of Solti's best recordings. Troyanos has a natural vibrato that may not be to everyone's liking, but she sings with integrity and good taste. Domingo is of course, Domingo, and was born to sing Jose. Van Dam and Kiri Te Kanawa are excellent, the sound and DECCA production too. But please don't forget that there is a much better CARMEN, one recorded at the Edinburgh Festival in 1977 when Teresa Berganza had all the rehearsal time she wanted, and Claudio Abbado and Placido Domingo. Berganza's Carmen is the most French of all, one rooted in Offenbach and Gounod, not in flamenco or Granados. Carmen was meant for the Opera-Comique, and it is very difficult to recapture it's special stylistic needs. Berganza and Abbado do this better than anyone else. Carmen is no verismo opera, it should not be sung like Cavalleria or Tosca, if you want to know how Carmen was meant to be, get the Abbado recording, much finer than this already very good version.