Bizet: Carmen

Georges Bizet (Composer), Leonard Bernstein (Conductor), Marilyn Horne (Performer), James McCracken (Performer), Tom Krause (Performer), Adriana Maliponte (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Marilyn Horne, James McCracken, Tom Krause, Adriana Maliponte
• Conductor: Leonard Bernstein
• Composer: Georges Bizet
• Audio CD (September 10, 2002)
• SPARS Code: ADD
• Number of Discs: 3
• Label: Deutsche Grammophon
• ASIN: B00006IQEY
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #164,617 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Carmen, opera: Prélude

2. Carmen, opera: Act 1. No. 1. Introduction. Sur la place chacun passe

3. Carmen, opera: Act 1. No. 2. Marche et Chooeur des gamins. Allez, dépêchez-vous!... Avec la garde montante

4. Carmen, opera: Act 1. Dites-moi, brigadier?

5. Carmen, opera: Act 1. No. 3. Choeur et Scène. Voici la cloche qui sonne... La cloche a sonné

6. Carmen, opera: Act 1. Mais nous ne voyons pas la Carmencita

See all 14 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Carmen, opera: Entr'acte

2. Carmen, opera: Act 2. No. 11. Chanson. Les tringles des sistres tintaient

3. Carmen, opera: Act 2. Mon Dieu, messieurs, il commence à se faire tard

4. Carmen, opera: Act 2. No. 12. Choeur et Ensemble. Vivat! vivat le toréro!

5. Carmen, opera: Act 2. No. 13. Couplet. Votre toast... je peux vous le rendre

6. Carmen, opera: Act 2. Dis-moi ton nom

See all 14 tracks on this disc

Disc: 3

1. Carmen, opera: Act 3. Entr'acte

2. Carmen, opera: Act 3. First Tableau. No. 18. Introduction. Ecoute, compagnon, écoute... Notre metier est bon

3. Carmen, opera: Act 3. First Tableau. Voyons, Carmen... faisons la paix

4. Carmen, opera: Act 3. First Tableau. No. 19. Trio. Mêlons! Coupons!

5. Carmen, opera: Act 3. First Tableau. Carreau, pique... la mort!... En vain, pour éviter les réponses amères

6. Carmen, opera: Act 3. First Tableau. Parlez encore, parlez, mes belles

See all 17 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I don't agree with any of these reviews, July 16, 2007

By 

Muslit (the world) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

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

I've played Carmen in the pit many more times than I wish to admit. In spite of the two leads (something I do agree with - not the best vehicles for either of them), this is the most riveting Carmen I've ever heard. The entire conception is different. Tempos are slow. Don Jose is the focus, not Carmen. The ultimate tragedy is what drives the production. Not the color, not the brilliance. Everything is toned down to that end. The Opera-Comique version adds to the realism. You basically have the original opera as Bizet intended it, plus music that does not exist in the more familiar recitative grand opera version (the recitatives are not Bizet's).

I'm so tired of playing the 'usual' Carmen, which is played for color and brilliance, with the tragedy placed on the back burner, in addition to the usual generic stage direction given to the singers and chorus (horrible).

This is a tremendously personal vision of Carmen. In spite of the two leads (which one can get used to), for me it is the version I keep coming back to.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Tiresome in the long run, March 30, 2011

By 

Jurgen Lawrenz (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bizet: Carmen (Audio CD)

Bizet: Carmen I refer you to pclaudel's review. He seems to know the in's and out's of the genesis of this recording. I add, although from a fading memory, that Bernstein's first appearances in Vienna (Mahler's Lied von der Erde and Verdi's Falstaff) were greeted with rapturous acclaim and that DGG in consequence burst their breeches to sign him up. Certainly the MET production of Carmen was expected by record collector's (LP's in those days) to provide something exceptionally exciting; and the hardest thing for a music lover to accept is that those expectations were disappointed by the actual result. And so the "glamour" simmered on for years; and every now and then I would dig out the Bernstein "Carmen" and listen to it with growing disappointment each time. Pick any highlights whatever from Beecham, Solti, Frühbeck, Karajan (Leontyne Price) or Abbado for side by side comparison, and you will discover immediately what's wrong with the Bernstein set. Namely two things: the conductor's self-indulgence and the principal singers' non-acquaintance with the idiom. It was a risk putting this on record; and only the clamour of propaganda saved it for a while from being unmasked.
The point I am driving at is this. Too many reviewers in Amazon's pages plainly write after a single audition. But recordings are made to be listened to repeatedly. No-one should write unless they've had the recording to be reviewed for at least a few weeks and heard it at least 3-4 times. Otherwise the review is inevitably going to be a momentary impression and useless to anyone else. I have now heard the Bernstein recording about a dozen times over 20-odd years, and each time I am more dismayed. I heard parts of it again a few days ago, to refresh my memory; and I don't think I will ever listen to it again. Life is too short to be cajoled into experiences that are not enriching.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Carmen That Marches to a Different Drummer!, January 25, 2011

By 

Y. Shuster (forest hills, New York United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bizet: Carmen (Audio CD)

This "Carmen" is unique amoung the vast majority of Carmens out there. First of all, the quality of the singers is different. Most Carmens have a more youthful and sexy and sensual sound to their voices. Horne's voice, on this recording, does not sound young, sexy or sensual. But she is a supreme musician and a master of her craft, and it shows in this outing. Much of the same can be said about the Jose, James McCracken. Mr. McCracken does not have a sexy voice, but he does have ringing top notes, a beefy and substantive middle register, and an exciting baritonal quality. So you do not get a sexy, "Italianate," or lyrical Jose in the manner of say a Kraus, Domingo or Gedda, but you do get an interpretation that is influenced by McCracken's great technique and intuitive musicality. Adriana Maliponte is a pure pleasure as Micaela, with a beautiful, sweet and luscious sound. Tom Krause is competent as Escamillo - nothing special, but there is nothing incorrect or undesirable about his potrayel either. In other words, he is no Merrill or Milnes. Yet this is no catastrophe when you consider that one doesn't purchase "Carmen" for the Escamillo. The supporting singers, especially Colette Boky as "Frasquita" and Marcia Baldwin as "Mercedes," are very good.

This brings us to the conducting of Leonard Bernstein. Again, it is not to everyone's taste, and represents a departure from the "usual" approach to Carmen. The pacing is at times slower than other interpretations, at times faster. But Bernstein's consumate musicality and inate instincts are in abundant evidence throughout. He is always in complete control of the score, and his view of the opera is a valid and interesting one, even if it is not one that most of his colleagues would agree with. The Metropolitan Opera orchestra plays beautifully.

Finally, one thing that makes this "Carmen" unique is Bernstein's use of Bizet's original "Opera-Comique" version which includes alot of spoken dialogue and recitative. There is nothing wrong with this version, of course. I just mention it because most recordings and performances of the opera do not include it.

In a word then, this is a superb musical document the listening of which I found a rich and rewarding experience!