Search - Georges Bizet, Lorin Maazel, Franco Corelli, Helen Donath, Piero Cappuccilli, Arleen Auger Anna Moffo :: Bizet - Carmen / Moffo, Corelli, Donath, Maazel

Not your only Carmen but an interesting detour

Marc Neil Jacobs | Mt. View, CA United States | 07/01/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"While this is not an entry that many reviewers are fond of, it still gives pleasurable listening. It was the first recording to restore the music Bizet cut before the premiere. The sound is gorgeous. What about the leads? Anna Moffo possesed a velvet

voice (and was a beautiful woman to boot). While she indulges in some crooning and scooping, she still offers an attractive sound and an interesting interpretation of Carmen. Franco Corelli has an animal energy -- even beyond what he did in his recording for Karajan (with Leontyne Price). Listen to him at the end of the 3rd act or any of act 4. He sounds truly possesed with jealousy. Helen Donath, who I was lucky enough to work with at LA Opera, never made a bad recording. Everything about her performance sounds fresh and spontaneous and perfectly pitched. Piero Capucilli's Escamillo seems a bit heavy, but is still fine. Dialogue has been trimed down to just a few lines between set pieces, probably since no one in the cast was a native French speaker. Maazel conducts with lots of personality, passion and individuality. Yes, he pulls the tempo around, so this is unmistakenly HIS view of "Carmen." In short, this is not a typically Gallic view of "Carmen" but still offers lots of pleasure. Give it a try if you like the idea of a different approach to this classic."

Moffo and Corelli - a match made in opera heaven!

leelee | Chicago, IL | 02/07/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"You can really never beat the incredible duo of Anna Moffo and Franco Corelli singing the title roles. I'm biased to both - Moffo is my favorite soprano with her creamy voice and dramatic ability. Corelli, for his sheer animal magnetism and intensity of performance. I've never been a fan of Bizet's "Carmen". For some reason, I just never liked operas sung in French. And I took French in school and enjoyed it. Somehow, operas just sound more beautiful and melodic in Italian. Anyways, the music is lovely as Bizet did have a way with melody. The leads truly make this a memorable performance as they did not sing together much at all during their respective careers. I wish they did.

Corelli sounds like a jealous man and possessed too! Moffo is her usual gorgeous self - the warm and seductive voice with it's elegant phrasing."

Moffo/Corelli Carme

Stephen S. Woodland | Seattle, WA USA | 10/16/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Anna Moffo was a lyric/coloratura soprano whose best years as a singer were the late 50's and early 60's. In the late sixties, she started having some vocal difficulties----mid-voice unsteadiness, shrill top notes and diminished stamina. At the same time, she began recording some repertoire that was unusual for her--Thais, Gluck's Ifegenia, Hansel and Carmen. I don't much like the recording. The dialogue is spoken by actors who sound nothing like their singing counterparts. The edition used is Oeser's scholarly interesting, but brass heavy and otherwise corrupt version. Maazel would record the opera better ten years later as a soundtrack for a film. Corelli is intense, but sloppy and never beneath fortissimo. He also dodges a b flat in the finale ("Demon"!!!) The supporting cast is fine. Moffo has interesting ideas about Carmen, and as was ever the case with her, kinda sexy. Weigh that against some flat mid-voice singing, crooning and you have, well, a mess. For Corelli and Moffo completists only."