Bizet: Carmen (Great Recordings of the Century) [Original recording remastered]

Victoria de los Angeles (Artist), Nicolai Gedda (Artist), Janine Micheau (Artist), Ernest Blanc (Artist), Jean-Christophe Benoît (Artist), Michel Hamel (Artist), Xavier Depraz (Artist), Georges Bizet (Composer), Sir Thomas Beecham (Conductor), Choeur & Orchestre National de la Radiodiffusion Française (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Choeur & Orchestre National de la Radiodiffusion Française
• Conductor: Sir Thomas Beecham
• Composer: Georges Bizet
• Audio CD (August 15, 2000)
• Number of Discs: 3
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: EMI Classics
• ASIN: B00004VVZC
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #230,789 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Carmen, opera: Prélude - G. Bizet

2. Carmen, opera: Act 1: 'Sur la place' - G. Bizet

3. Carmen, opera: Act 1: 'Avec la garde montante' - G. Bizet

4. Carmen, opera: Act 1: 'C'est bien là, n'est-ce pas' - G. Bizet

5. Carmen, opera: Act 1: 'La cloche a sonné... Dans l'air, nous suivons des yeux la fumée' - G. Bizet

6. Carmen, opera: Act 1: 'Quand je vous aimerai?' - G. Bizet

See all 14 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Carmen, opera: Entr'acte - G. Bizet

2. Carmen, opera: Act 2: 'Les tringles des sistres tintaient' - G. Bizet

3. Carmen, opera: Act 2: 'Messieurs, Pastia me dit' - G. Bizet

4. Carmen, opera: Act 2: 'Vivat! vivat le Toréro!' - G. Bizet

5. Carmen, opera: Act 2: 'Votre toast, je peux vous le rendre' - G. Bizet

6. Carmen, opera: Act 2: 'La belle, un mot'

See all 14 tracks on this disc

Disc: 3

1. Carmen, opera: Entr'acte - G. Bizet

2. Carmen, opera: Act 3: 'Écoute, écoute, compagnon, écoute'

3. Carmen, opera: Act 3: 'Reposons-nous une heure ici, mes camarades'

4. Carmen, opera: Act 3: 'Mêlons! Coupons!'

5. Carmen, opera: Act 3: 'Eh bien?'

6. Carmen, opera: Act 3: 'Quant au douanier c'est notre affaire'

See all 14 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

As remastered for EMI's Great Recordings of the Century series, this classic 1959 Carmen sounds marginally better than its previous silver disc incarnation. Tape hiss is reduced, but without any compromise in residual overtones. A/B comparisons also tipped the scales in favor of the present reissue for newfound clarity and character among the lower-pitched instruments and the choral forces. Like many conductors of his generation, Beecham viewed Carmen as grand opera, instead of opera comique, and opted for the once-ubiquitous, now-discredited Guirard recitatives. But the great conductor's ebullient pacing and light-handed orchestral balancing galvanizes his splendid cast to idiomatic heights. Victoria de los Angeles gets under the skin of the complex title role as few mezzos have--so much so that it is easy to take for granted her alluring timbre and meticulous musicianship. Nicolai Gedda's ardent and alive Don José is vocally fresher but a tad less insightful than his 1964 remake partnering Callas. Well sung but less individually portrayed are Ernst Blanc's Escamillo and Janine Michaeau's Micaela. Carmen sets of more recent vintage offer more authentic presentations of Bizet's text, to be sure. Yet Beecham's theatrical flair still burns brightly and will enrich Carmen lovers who have yet to experience this delightful, ageless recording. --Jed Distler

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars French unity of conception, August 16, 2000

By 

Mr JB (Karlskrona Sweden) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bizet: Carmen (Great Recordings of the Century) (Audio CD)

Let's just start with saying that this is a wonderful 'Carmen'. And that is probably because everyone who was involved with this recording turned in stunning performances. Let's begin with Victoria de los Angeles, whom I think makes The best over all performance of Carmen on disc - perhaps because she came from Spain, just as 'Carmen' is a spanish woman, but she also was a perfect interpreter of french opera with faultless accent and pronunciation, and 'Carmen' definately is french in style. De los Angeles is charming & humourous, seductive & fatal and not least, proud. She perfectly moves from being naive and childish in the beginning of the opera, to the more mature woman in the final acts - leaving no listener unmoved. Many of her individual parts are highly memorable, 'Pres le remparts...' and the card scene maybe the favorites. She might be a little genteel in her vocal style, but missing none of the caracter's many nuances. As her Don José we have Nicolai Gedda - an almost idiomatic french tenor with lots of wit and elegance. His 'flower song' is probably the best I've ever heard, thanks to his smoothness and perfect technique. He's also very moving in the duet with Michaela - on of the records real highlights. The only weakness with Gedda's performance is that he in the last act misses some of the dark intensity that the role calls for, making his despair a little childish, but that's a minor objection to a very good performance indeed.

The other parts are very well sung as well. Michaeu as Michaela is utterly moving. When the 'parles moi de ma mere' ends I always wish it would last a little more, just to hear the perfect collaboration between Michaeu and Gedda. Ernest Blanc is good, no more no less, as Escamillo, bringing the so oftenly missing french style to his part, putting forth the caracter as a kind of stupid oneway-mind, very selfconfident indeed.

Beecham then, how does he handle the score? Well, he certainly brings forth the elegance & the passion, the wit & the tragedy. There is never a boring moment from the orchestra, and the underlaying thrill of the score is always present. Many are the times when I at the end at a certain piece wishes it to last just a little longer, because it feels so right. I definately think that this is the best conducted Carmen I've ever heard.

The sound also is good, mostly in the aspect of the balance between singers and orchestra, which is perfect. The sound itself is a little old but clear enough, a lot better than on the original LP-set, since it's been elaborately digitally remastered.

Since I like Carmen (on record) better with recitatives, I don't mind the Guiraud's used here.

Compared to other sets, I consider this is an over all winner. It's strongest competitors, and these are strong ones indeed, I think are the old Karajan set with Price and Corelli (RCA), and maybe the Abbado set with Berganza & Domingo (DG). What both of these sets misses is french style, the former being very italian in style, although bewitchingly sung. I think that Karajan's sounds very much like a performance of songnumbers more than a theatrical whole. The Abbado set has a unmoving but extremely beautiful sung Carmen in Berganza, and a very powerful Don José in Domingo, but unfortunately little else when looking at the other roles. As I said, these are very good sets, but this Beecham, now at this low price, is the most french (and spanish) perfomance, with a cast and conductor perfectly matching each other, they all go for the same goal, and they succeed! I can't recommend it enough.

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Still classic after all these years, December 6, 2001

By 

klavierspiel "klavierspiel" (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Bizet: Carmen (Great Recordings of the Century) (Audio CD)

Beecham's conducting and the performance of Victoria de los Angeles in the title role raise this performance of this much-performed and recorded opera to the level of one for the ages. Both of them realize, as many others do not, that Carmen was and is a French as well as Spanish heroine in Bizet's incarnation, and that Carmen the opera was originally conceived as an _opéra comique_, not a grand opera. Thus, there is a lightness and even humor to their reading that makes the more starkly dramatic and violent moments all the more telling in contrast. Even the use of the tired Guiraud recitatives cannot detract from the validity of their basic conception.

Victoria de los Angeles has been described as "a Carmen in a thousand" and the description still holds true after more than four decades. She applies her naturally beautiful voice, untaxed by high notes, to create a bewitching, alluring heroine. She is well-supported by her male colleagues, Nicolai Gedda and Ernest Blanc; only Janine Micheau disappoints slightly, sounding too mature and vocally not altogether comfortable in her big third-act aria. All this is not to say that there are no other performances of Carmen worth hearing; but as a totality this one has stood the test of time and more.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classical Carmen, November 18, 2004

By 

Emma de Soleil "I moved to the UK for another... (On a holiday In Ibiza, then back to the UK for studies) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bizet: Carmen (Great Recordings of the Century) (Audio CD)

This Carmen has been praised like the glorious Callas-Tosca, the amazing Falstaff with Gobbi, the legendary Berlin-Lucia and the celestial Boheme with de los Angeles and Björling. I heard this first when I was a teenager and found de los Angeles to be more like a noble princess than a sexy woman but she grows on you, each time you listen to her. I prefer her over all the Pin-up-Carmens because of her noble pride and Spanish charisma. She is not a dark, dangerous or haunting Carmen like Callas or Cossotto but a cheerful one with noblesse and a dignified sex-appeal, think Grace Kelly (Whom I find to be sexier than for example Marilyn Monroe). Her habanera is cleared of all the hip-swinging and cheap mannerisms, absolutely adorable. Her segeduilla is like a ray of light, enticing, yet impossible to catch. Her singing in the card-aria and finale doesn't have the magnitude of a Resnik or Baltsa but it as a Spanish flair I rarely ever heard here. Wonderful her cold elegance as she defies Don José, just sublime and dignified. Carmen has been portrayed as a man-eater and [...] way too often, de los Angeles set the record straight!

Nicolai Gedda is in excellent voice, even more so than on the Carmen he did with Maria Callas several years later. Wonderfully controlled, yet passionate and stylistic singing ala George Thill. Blanc is wonderful as Escamillo, yet I prefer Massard. Beecham is my favourite conductor for Carmen together with Maazel. Every opera-collection is incomplete without this! A+++++++++++