Bizet: Carmen

Georges Bizet (Composer), Thomas Schippers (Conductor), L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (Orchestra), Claude Cales (Performer), Joan Sutherland (Performer), Mario del Monaco (Performer), Regina Resnik (Performer), Tom Krause (Performer), Yvonne Minton (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Claude Cales, Joan Sutherland, Mario del Monaco, Regina Resnik, Tom Krause, et al.
• Orchestra: L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
• Conductor: Thomas Schippers
• Composer: Georges Bizet
• Audio CD (June 13, 1995)
• SPARS Code: ADD
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Decca
• ASIN: B00000425U
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #212,534 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #36 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Divas > Sutherland, Joan
  • #87 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Featured Performers, A-Z > Q to T

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best, but the only one that shows the real Carmen, July 3, 2003

By 

Ygor Coelho (Fortaleza, CE Brasil) - See all my reviews

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

Carmen is the most popular opera in the world and of course has been recorded by all sorts of singers. The previsible result of this is that we always feel puzzled when we need to buy Carmen. First, you need to ask yourself: what Carmen am I looking for? If you want a elegant Carmen, choose Berganza. If you want a victime-of-the-fate Carmen, choose Gheorghiu. But if you want a real Carmen, able to be sexy and, at the same moment, able to show a great cruelty and coldness, choose Resnik. When I listen to her Carmen, I can see that sexy woman who shows us her perfid character, that woman who thought she was the imortal godness of Love. That was Carmen and that is Resnik's Carmen. Some people criticize her interpretation saying she seems Klytemnestra. That's not the case. I heard her Klytemnestra and can see that those people forgot something: both are cruel and selfish, but Carmen, instead of Klytemnestra, who kills to conquer love and richness, use the weapons of love. I love this recording exactly because of that: Resnik isn't elegant and even the godness of sensuality, but a cruel, sexy and, specially, vulgar woman.
Joan Sutherland as Micaela is the opposite of Resnik as Carmen. She's sweet and innocent, specially in the first act, and her powerful voice is gorgeous. Usually when we think of a sweet role to soprano like Micaela, we imagine a short voice, and that's the common rule. It's not what we hear in this great recording: we listen to the greatest coloratura soprano in the XX century! It means, we have a completely perfect Micaela, vocally and dramatically.
The cast also includes a good Mario del Monaco, with a magnificent voice that emphasizes the weak personality of Don José, and one of the best Escamillos ever sang, Tom Krause. I must remind you Escamillo was one of the best roles sang by the pleasant bass-baritone.
Besides, Thomas Schippers conducts the orchestra with a soft French soul and with power and competence. Another great detail is the pair formed by Spannelys and Minton (Frasquita and Mercedes, respectively), who sing the most gorgeous "Melons, coupons" I ever heard.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best Carmens for me...., November 16, 2002

By 

Rachel Howard (ocklawaha, Florida United States) - See all my reviews

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

Carmen is not about perfect French style or whether the heroine sounds matronly or if the Escamillo sounds `comfortable' at the bottom of his range. What is it about? Let's see...

A beautiful, sexy woman wants to make out with who she wants, when she wants, and how she wants. Her current lover wants her to himself... and is willing to kill her to make sure that she does. A handsome devil-may-care man with a big ego wants Carmen too.

Don Jose fights with his superior officer to keep Carmen. He does his best to kill Escamillo. When he finally gets it through his thick skull that Carmen does NOT love him, he stabs her. (Carmen is one of the few operas in which the tenor is the villain. Although Escamillo is a braggart, he turns out to be a reasonably decent man. Listen to the opera or read the libretto to find out why I say this.) Don Jose deserts Micaela to be with Carmen. Sound like a reasoning man, full to the brim with Christian charity and love? No. He's selfish, love-stricken, and extremely passionate. To me, that does not mean the tenor should fill the role only with those wonderful French subtleties, but fill the stage with fire and blood. I admit that del Monaco is not very subtle here, but he also does not just shout the role. Nor does he bellow the Flower Song. He becomes Don Jose on this recording, making the man into a frighteningly emotional powerhouse.

Resnik sounds great here. Feminine, emotional, taunting, fearful... with a full and sumptuous voice. She's deep into the role and it sounds it. She became one of MY favorite Carmens upon hearing her here.

Krause is a fine Escamillo- full-voiced and extroverted, brimming with confidence. He reminds me here of Robert Merrill- and that's no small compliment. Does anybody who might be reading this remember Lawrence Tibbett's incredible version of the Toreador Song? That man had the bottom notes one of the other reviewers wants. Nobody else I've heard touches Tibbett on this, but Krause is an asset to this recording.

I would prefer several other sopranos from the time for Micaela, the one character who helps reveal that Don Jose does have a streak of humanity in him... but Dame Joan does a fine job here. As usual, the voice is luscious and is used in service to the composer and to the character.

Thomas Schippers died way too young. I've yet to hear a performance of anything lead by him that disappointed me, this Carmen included. The chorus and orchestra come alive under his able leadership, as well as the soloists. I first heard this version at a friend's house, not knowing who was singing what or who the conductor was. It drew me right into the story and never let me go. Give it a try! I really doubt you will be bored!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pure smuggler's gold, July 20, 2004

By 

Tom Lawrence "tomtrumpet" (Cambridge, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

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

At first I was alarmed by the breakneck tempos; this could possibly be the fastest Carmen on disc. But as I listened I realized that the pace doesn't interfere with the drama, it is a part of the concept of this production. The entire team dispatches this opera like a flower tossed over the shoulder, devil-may-care.

Regina Resnik is a faultless Carmencita; she hits all of the acting beats of the role. In Act One she plays the seducer with an alluring smile in her voice. In Act Two she rages fiery indignity at her lover's hesitance then quietly reconsiders when he reveals his true devotion. Acts Three and Four - her annoyance with, and defiance of an ex-lover who won't let go.

Mario del Monaco has a clear, ringing tone that I find refreshing. His is not the most nuanced Don Jose, but at the end of Act Three, when he is torn between clinging to Carmen and returning to his dying mother, we hear him become the ardent, obsessed stalker of the final act.

Tom Krause is a fun Escamillo. You can almost hear this bullfighter smoothing his eyebrow in the presence of adoring fans.

Joan Sutherland as Micaela... this is faint praise, but she doesn't get in the way. Instead of La Stupenda we get another member of the ensemble adding to the forward motion of the drama. No star turn at all.

Thomas Schippers leads the orchestra and chorus through a brisk but cleanly detailed performance. L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande is immediate without being overbearing, thanks to John Culshaw's production talent. The Choeur du Grand Theatre de Geneve makes a lively troupe of soldiers, gypsies and smugglers, making every word intelligible.

I hold back a star for some awkward choices in stage direction. The text indicates that Act Two opens with a gypsy song accompanied by dancing, so we are treated to some increasingly manic flamenco steps pounded out on the sound stage. The overdubbing of canned crowd noise in the tavern and outside the corrida adds more distraction than atmosphere.

You get a thin CD booklet with an act-by-act synopsis but there's no libretto with this release. If you can afford two Carmens, the Chandos Opera In English set provides an idiomatic translation that keeps to the rhythm of the original French.

To sum it up, this is a highly enjoyable performance with an emphasis on character and action. The budget price of this Double Decker set makes it the best-valued Carmen out there. Pure smuggler's gold.