Customer Reviews

Bizet - Carmen

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The 1967 film of Karajan's Salzburg production of Carmen is finally on DVD. This marked the first time Bizet's opera was recorded on film. For those who may be unfamiliar with it, this is not recorded at the Salzburg Festival, nor is it even a live recording. It is a filmed memento of the production which first premiered at the 1966 Salzburg Festival and was restaged for the 1967 festival with a slight change of cast. Karajan was notorious for avoiding live recordings. He wanted the kind of perfection in his recordings which could only be achieved in the studio. The music was recorded at the Sofiensaal in Vienna and the filming itself took place in Munich, Germany. It is a lip-synched performance but very well done. Production values are very high. The staging is superb, from the sumptuous sets, to the gorgeous costumes, to the huge supporting cast which even included riders on horseback.

There are several differences between the original festival production and the film version. Karajan managed to assemble some of the finest forces available for the festival. For the film itself he went even further, bringing in the venerable Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and the Vienna State Opera Chorus and Children's Chorus to replace the original Salzburg Festival Orchestra and Chorus. He changed the line-up of singers several times until he was satisfied he had the right mix. He even imported the Ballet de España, preferring them for authenticity over the traditional Staatsoper ballet.

A still young Grace Bumbry is in full bloom here as the sultry, fiery Carmen. Jon Vickers does an excellent job spanning the emotional spectrum from shy young soldier to jealous lover to enraged murderer. Mirella Freni with her wonderfully expressive voice is simply enchanting as the kind, noble-hearted Micaëla. She outshines everyone else here and tends to steal every scene she is in. And of course you get to see long stretches of Karajan himself, in the Prelude and the three Entr'actes, eyes perpetually closed, seemingly in bliss as he conducts the Vienna Philharmonic in the darkened orchestra pit. The effect is to give the impression that we are watching a live performance. And that performance is without question a glorious triumph.

As a note of interest, Karajan performs the older version of Carmen using the sung recitatives written by Ernest Guiraud. He would later re-record Carmen for Deutsche Grammophon (with Baltsa, Carreras, Van Dam, Ricciarelli & the BPO) using the longer 1964 Oeser Critical Edition with its expanded music and Bizet's original spoken dialogue. Bumbry, Vickers and Freni would also go on to record the newer version with spoken dialogue under Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos. But this is the only occasion when the principal participants would come together and as an historical document, old or new, it is to be treasured. Another peculiarity of this production is Karajan's inclusion of music from Bizet's "L'Arlésienne", including the famous showstopping Farandole for the extended Spanish Dance sequence at Lillas Pastia's tavern. This was obviously meant as a showcase for the Ballet de España and they acquit themselves admirably.

This film was shot in 1.37:1 aspect ratio (fullscreen). The brilliant colors of the costumes and sets are caught in full technicolor splendor. Deutsche Grammophon has either gotten hold of a pristine print or has taken the trouble of restoring it for DVD. It looks superb. There is almost no dirt or nicks to speak of. The picture is crystal clear and sharp. The colors really leap out. A lovely transfer overall. Sound is in the original uncompressed PCM stereo along with a new DTS 5.1 remix. The sound is good, although a mite aggressive. I personally prefer the plain old stereo. There are 53 cuing tracks but unfortunately no direct access via the menu - you need to read the track contents from the booklet. The original French libretto, along with English and Spanish translations are available as optional subtitles. This is an altogether outstanding production of Carmen which more than holds its own against later cinematic versions.

Deutsche Grammophone, a record label and now a terrific Opera-on-DVD label, has outdone themselves recently. This Carmen on film, of a Salzburg Festival production, is just one of many currently released operas on DVD by the DG label - on the market now are Cavelleria Rusticana/I Pagliacci starring Placido Domingo, Tosca starring Domingo and Raina Kabainskava, the Domingo-Mirella Freni Madame Butterfly and the Otello starring Jon Vickers and Mirella Freni. This is hands down the most perfect Carmen. I would love to see a newer staged production similar to this one. Thanks to fine art direction/cinematography (and lovely Technicolor) this 1967 production is a dream come true and a fine document to the artists who poured their hearts into this opera- the magical and illustrious conductor Herbert Von Karajan (who throughout conducts the orchestra with his eyes closed and quite confidently and passionately)mezzo soprano Grace Bumbry in her youngest and earliest captured Carmen in a performace that is to this date unsurpassed, tenor Jon Vickers as a strong, passionate and obscessed Don Jose, Mirella Freni as a noble and lovely Micaela and baritone Justino Diaz as a handsome and magnetic Escamillo. The set design, though not elaborate or lavish as a Zefferelli production, is authentically and quintessentially Spanish and charming. Costumes are also top-notch- men in tailored shirts and pants, women looking like Gypsies and Bumbry has fine eye-pleasaing costumes which show off her figure and cleavage. The white gown in the Lilas Pastias scene is lovely as is the red gown she wears in the last act at the bullfight. The houses look Mexican in design, there's even a guitar hanging on a wall. Very beautiful.

Grace Bumbry gives it her all as Carmen. She performs the character with nuance, playfulness and ease- as if she's having fun in the role. "Habanera" and "Seguidilla" and the Gypsy Song and Dance sequence are all executed with great flair. Bumbry is Carmen, immersed in the character right to the skin. Her reading of the Death Card aria is expressive and grand. She has real chemistry with Jon Vickers. He is the most convincing Don Jose to me. He has a strong, robust voice and masculine appearance, and he goes from shy soldier to enamored admirer of Carmen to possessive and crazed with jealousy. When he stabs Carmen, it comes as no surprise, and Carmen knew it was coming too. This is a fine production and we will never again see the likes of it. It is impressive in every single way. Please go out and buy this and other Deutsche Grammophone operas on DVD. Thanks Deutsche Grammophone! Keep up the outstanding work!

Herbert von Karajan was certainly an ambitious devil. Not content with being a great conductor, he insisted on "dabbling" in film, making a series of opera movies. This Carmen is one of them, and it proves the conductor to be quite talented as a visual artist. Of course, it doesn't hurt to have a cast this good, which is as close to perfect as you are likely to get.

The film itself is lovely to look at. The costumes are beautiful, the sets spacious and realistic, and quite gritty(appropriate, considering the setting and earthy subject matter), and the use of camera angles is revealing of character, glorious during some of the crowd scenes, frequently imaginative. The scene in the first act where the gypsy girls sit on the steps of the cigarette factory and languidly sing is colorful, artistically staged, worthy of a painting. The way Escamillo connects with his female admirers during the Toreador Song is well staged. The flamenco and ballet scenes(inserting music from L'Arlesienne) are choreographed superbly. And of course the closeups of Carmen at her most seductive or Don Jose at his most angst-ridden are priceless. One caveat, the film is dubbed, but the quality of the dubbing is very professional, most of the time it's hardly noticeable, rarely is it distracting.

On to the singing actors. John Vickers has his detractors, but I am not one of them. Critics suggest that his voice is not beautiful enough, but I find no evidence of this, particularly in this performance. His Flower Song is heart-rending, enough to melt the heart of any Carmen. His Don Jose has a soul, a wounded soul in fact, loyal(in love at least) to a murderous fault while aware of its own weaknesses. It's a mesmerizing performance.

Mirella Freni has the correct ingenuous beauty, as well as the vocal chops to pull off a ravishing performance as Micaela. It's not a large role for such a big name, but Freni makes it large through the sheer force of her lung power. Her act three aria is among the opera's, and this film's, highlights.

Justino Diaz is a suave, handsome Escamillo with a powerful baritone voice. The Toreador song is sometimes difficult to pull off, with singer and orchestra competing for center stage, but Diaz olds his own against the forces of the Weiner Philharmoniker.

As for Grace Bumbry, what can you say? Her Carmen is absolutely smoking HOT!!!! Not only is her Carmen among the best I've ever heard, it is probably THE best I have ever seen. Instead of playing Carmen as an oversexed mankiller, she brings layers of intelligence and sophistication to the role, which not only makes her character more logical, it makes the unfolding of events more logical as well, and, as a result, this is probably the most thoroughly satisfying Carmen from my experience. Simply astonishing!

Von Karajan and his orchestral forces give a vital interpretation of the score, slow at times but always involving. I noticed only one cut, in the final duet between Carmen and Don Jose. Overall, the sound quality is very good. From an aural standpoint, you aren't likely to find a better Carmen anywhere.

Nor from a visual standpoint. The filmmaking is surprisingly good, and the video transfer is superb, bringing a brightness and purity to the colorful images.

Highly recommended.

Like other opera lovers, I had hesitated adding Carmen to my collection and after much thought, decided on this version without reading any reviews, having heard of its fame as the first to be put to DVD.

First, the music is wonderful. Karajan's orchestra is flawless and the sets are nicely done. The singing, by all the leads, is superior and the acting very, very good (except by Diaz). However, all this good stuff was undone by the poor translation from what must have been 8 or 16mm to DVD. Whoever mastered this should be shot. Either the lip-syncing was off from the start or the remastering put the audio track so far out of whack from the video that I was distracted from beginning to end with tracking that didn't sync and constant video popping that was clearly an attempt to bring audio and video back together. One minute the audio track was 10-30ms behind the video, then in sync with a jump of the video, then magically back out of sync. I completely disagree with the reviewer who said the lip-syncing was well-done. It was horrible and made an otherwise incredible production almost unwatchable. I loved the quality of the music and finally closed my eyes through much of the 2 hours just so I could enjoy it. I also finally turned on the English subtitles and read them instead of watching the great acting, marred horribly by words and music not in time with the mouth movements.

I honestly wish I could have gotten past this 'out-of-sync' disaster. The quality of music is well-worth the purchase, but anyone who has ever watched a good movie that seemed like an cheap, English-dubbed Japanese film because the tracking was so far off will find the same unavoidable distraction I did in this otherwise wonderful production. Consider this fair warning.

I have heard Carmen sung by many mezzos (and sopranos), but I've never heard it sung as well as Grace Bumbry did in this movie. The singing is as close to flawless as I've ever heard. Bumbry surely must have thinned down for this part because her waistline is wasplike. She looks fabulous and struts about in several wonderful outfits.
Jon Vickers is not one of my favorite singers, but he looked and acted the part well and, amazingly, sang it well too. He sang the Flower Song almost entirely mezza voce, with a gorgeous pianissimo ending.
Justino Diaz was the youngest Escamillo I've ever seen, very realistic, and he did a fine job.
Mirella Frena was a beautiful Micaela, and how beautifully she sang!
Except for what is usually the mountain scene, the scenery was all very realistic and more than adequate. The costumes were colorful and delightful. One of the other reviewers complained about the polka dots--they did not bother me at all. And the cinematography was better than you would have expected for 1967.
Von Karajan did his usual magnificent job with the orchestra. He took some of the song tempos quite slowly, milking out the sensuality. I loved it!
I watched this with a friend, and we both agreed that, vocally at least, it surpassed the CARMEN with Placido Domingo and Julia Migenes Johnson. Anyone who is a fan of great singing would be making a serious mistake by passing up this treasure....

This is one of the three Great Carmens on DVD, this, Ewing with Mehta, and Von Otter. It has the best conductor, Von Karajan, and the best Jose, Jon Vickers, and a Michaela, Freni, as good as any.

Central to Carmen is how the main character and Jose are depicted. They must be vivid, especially Carmen, complex and powerful. Overall Vickers is the best Don Jose on DVD or CD. He is slightly outacted by Louis Lima on the Ewing/Mehta set -Lima has the advantage of looking Spanish; Lima's face is more mobile and his reactions more varied; Vickers every once a while looks and acts sort of blank. Vickers does have the advantage of his magnificant, burly body: he is a visible force. And he deserves credit for this, for he is continually a force while Marcus Haddock, in the Von Otter, with a similar build is not. Vickers outsings everyone in this part: he pays more attention to dynamics (ending the Flower Song, for example, with its written pianissmo conclusion); has the grace to sing softly often, has the skill to sing softly but with great intensity, and has more power than anyone else in the role. Against him, Domingo seems a good voiced kid, a novice, who doesnt get much of the part.

It is a compliment to Grace Bumbry's Carmen that Vickers, in all his variety and power, does not blow her off the screen. She sings very well, phrasing subtly but having the power needed at climaxes. She is not as absolutely fascinating and charismatic to watch as either Ewing or Von Otter, but her characterization is lovely in its variety.She is the most charming of the three Carmens. She just isn't quite the force of nature that the other two women are. You can wish you never had met Von Otter, but you wouldn't forget it; you would have to be dead to forget Ewing...it is possible you could forget Bumbry.

Freni is wonderful; all you can fault her for is her attractiveness which makes her Micaela too obviously attractive to Jose; the sisterly/good person part of the character is overshadowed by her attractiveness. She sings exquisitely and with the help of Karajan's conducting, does a splendid job with her aria.

Diaz, as Escamillo, is fine; he isnt as quite as delicate with the music as Nauori (in the Von Otter) but has a more powerful voice. He sings and acts well.

It is a cliche, though a relevant one here, to praise Von Karajan's conducting, the best on DVD. He gets the combination of delicacy, beauty, power, and force that is in the music more totally than anyone else. (Yes, Kleiber's conducting is fascinating in its clarity and intensity but it lacks variety, delicacy and often beauty.) I wish also to praise his stage direction for which he was often criticized. Here, he tells the essentials of the story clearly, depicts the central relationships well and movingly, and never gets in the music's way.

All told, a wonderful production. The sound is somewhat thin and I have nostalgia for the great what might have been of a production conducted by Von Karajan with Vickers and Ewing. But this is a lovely job that does justice to the work.

I ENDORSE EVERY WORD WRITTEN BY "A VIEWER" ON MAY 31st ABOUT THIS NEW RELEASE AND I HATE TO TELL HIM/HER THAT IT WAS RELEASED HERE IN SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL, ON JUNE 2nd !!!
IT IS POSSIBLY A MORE IMPORTANT RELEASE THAN "ERNANI" (DOMINGO, FRENI,BRUSON, GHIAUROV) A FEW MONTHS AGO.
MIRELLA FRENI WAS THE GREATEST ITALIAN SOPRANO POST-WAR (THE GREAT TEBALDI HAD A BIGGER VOICE BUT POOR SENTIMENT).
AND, YES, MIRELLA WAS THE ONLY SOPRANO TO EVER SUGGEST THAT "MICAËLA" COULD HAVE BEEN THE NAME OF THIS OPERA...
NOW, AS FAR AS MEZZO-SOPRANOS GO, GRACE BUMBRY HAS ALWAYS BEEN MY FAVORITE IN DRAMATIC ROLES ("NABUCCO", "DON CARLO"...) AND "CARMEN" IS A DRAMATIC ROLE, GRACEFUL (NO PUN...)BUT VERY DRAMATIC.
SO, BOYS AND GIRLS, WHILE I LISTEN/WATCH THIS DVD, OVER AND OVER, COUNT THE DAYS FOR THE NEXT TWO WEEKS UNTIL YOUR PRE-ORDERED COPY ARRIVES (LOL)
CARLOS WOODWARD.

Aside from the lip-synch essential to accomplishing this magnificent cinematic endeavor, these artists' collective work represents a triumph of perfectionism. Inasmuch as the positive reviews here say it all, I can do no more than quote one reviewer: "This is a fine production and we will never again see the likes of it."

The reviews for this newly released DVD have been very favorable and attest to the top-notch quality of the performance. Grace Bumbry as Carmen is liberated, dramatic, a tad cynical and tragic, sensuous and quintessentially Carmen, the perfect embodiment of the heroine that Bizet envisioned. Jon Vickers has incredible chemistry with Bumbry and as Don Jose is passionate, intense, dark and masculine; he is a man consumed by possession of Carmen and driven mad by jealousy. The final confrontation in which the inevitable stabbing occurs is fresh, frightening and highly dramatic, in fact the best finale I've ever seen, irregardless of the many times I've seen it. No other tenor and soprano made this final moment more visceral than Jon Vickers and Grace Bumbry. Mirella Freni sings her heart out as Micaela, and from her first scene in Act 1 as she searches for Don Jose among his regiment to the final scene where she, armed with faith in God (Je Dis que ne rien) confronts Jose in the criminal smuggler world he has become part of. Micaela is suddenly larger than life and not the minor character she can be reduced to. Mirella Freni sang the role of Micaela numerous times and handled it with grace and awe-inspiring dignity. A very young Justino Diaz, not yet a star, is the baritone in the role of Escamillo. He is elegant and masculine, singing one of the finer renditions of "Toreador" that I've heard but looking less than ideal opposite Carmen who towers over him in personality. Diaz had the right voice but lacked the right attitude for Escamillo. But this is just a small thorn in a very beautiful rose.

What more can be said about Maestro Herbert Von Karajan, largely considered the best conductor of the 20th century ? He conducts as if this were a live performance (which it is not) and keeps his eyes tightly closed, immersed in the music, a trademark of his as a conductor. The score is not the original Choudens score but the more traditional Guiraud score with sung recitative. Karajan tinkers with the score (he has done this with other works before such as Don Carlo, Trovatore and Otello). He includes music from Bizet's other tragic opera L'Arlessiene for the Spanish dances in Lillas Pastias directly after Carmen's "Les Triangles". The look of the sets are not lavish or detailed, but very effectiev in its simplicity. Authentic costumes, walls, floors, chairs, guitars, shawls, streets, shops and much more. But the star of this production is neither the sets, conductor but Grace Bumbry in a role that she made entirely her own. The more sought after Carmen at this time however was another black artist Shirley Verrett but after watching this Carmen, I can see why I have always preferred Grace Bumbry. She is exactly as Carmen is supposed to be. She sings the Habanera, Seguidilla, Gypsy Song, and Death Card Scene with the most dedicated musicianship and passes with flying colors. Carmen was a role she did outstandingly well, though Bumbry never really liked the role. At this time, still a mezzo-soprano, Grace was also taking soprano roles such as Lady Macbeth which she first sang in 1964, only a few years earlier than this performance!!! She would transition to soprano and enjoy success in such diverse roles as Elizabeth in Don Carlo, Bellini's Norma, Verdi's Aida, Santuzza in Cavelleria Rusticana, Puccini's Tosca and Richard Strauss' Salome. Now if only there were filmed DVD's of those performances!!!

This is a movie, not a live production. With an opera movie, you get the standard lip-synching - yuck. I was really disappointed when I saw it was a movie. It is also a very dated production - Carmen and Micaela are wearing the bouffant wigs with the dippity-doo curls on the face and lots of mascara. Carmen is wearing a mini-skirt - a red flared one. The soldiers' uniforms are olive jackets over light blue pants - art deco meets the military. So, I just didn't watch the whole thing, but I did listen to it. The singing is wonderful. I did find Karajan's conducting a bit pokey at times, particularly on the Habanera. He always takes the most exciting moments down to a plodding shuffle. I recommend this video only to hear the singers, but otherwise, I would strongly suggest purchasing a video of a live production of Carmen, or if you want to see a movie of Carmen, the Domingo/Migenes one is much more timeless.