Search - Georges Bizet, Thomas Schippers, L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande :: Bizet: Carmen

One of the best Carmens for me....

Rachel Howard | ocklawaha, Florida United States | 11/17/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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!"

One of the best, but the only one that shows the real Carmen

Ygor Coelho | Fortaleza, CE Brasil | 07/04/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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."

A Good Secondary Carmen

Timothy Kearney | Hull, MA United States | 07/14/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"For opera aficionados, A, B, and C are not just the first letters of the alphabet, they also stand for the three staples of most opera companies and the probable most performed operas in the history of the art form: AIDA, BOHEME, and CARMEN. Of the three, Carmen is probably the most performed and many of its melodies are the best known tunes in all of music. Just about all of the greatest sopranos have wanted to take the stage as opera's ultimate bad girl. In this recording, Regina Resnik is an admirable in the title role. While there are others I prefer in the role (my first recording had Rise Stevens in the title role and I am biased toward her, I also grew up listening to Callas in the role), Resnik does more than sing the role. She does give it a dramatic intensity, except in the final act where she is somewhat lukewarm in the role. Mario Del Monaco is admirable as the indecisive Don Jose and his ""Le Fleur que tu m'avais jestee" is one of the best renditions of this standard tenor aria.While Resnik and Del Monaco are reason enough to buy any recording, I purchased it for two other reasons. First, I wanted to hear Joan Sutherland as operas ultimate "good girl" Micaela. While I know that one could argue that Elizabeth in TANNHAUSER is the ultimate good girl with her forgiving attitude toward the wretch Tannhauser, Tannhauser at least has a spine and Elizabeth could perhaps see his potential virtue. Done Jose, on the other hand has few redeeming characteristics, which in my opinion makes Micaela's devotion more generous. Sutherland's voice conveys a sweetness and simplicity that fits the role of Micaela beautifully. Her Act I duet with Del Monaco is breathtaking and her Act IV aria "Jen e me trompe pas" is performed in a way that conveys Micaela's innocence and goodness. Tom Krause's interpretation of Escamillo is a bonus for this recording. Another plus is that of the conductor Thomas Schippers. Schipper's premature death was a loss to the musical world and his handling of the orchestra gives us a glimpse of what we missed. I would not recommend this as a primary CARMEN. Others recordings of the work, such as the Domingo, Milnes, Berganza, and Cotrubas recording or the Callas and Gedda recording under the direction of Prete would be better choices. Yet this set does have some interesting portions that make it well worth listening to, and since it is a mid-priced recording, it is still reasonably a good purchase.Potential buyers should know that this recording does not have a libretto."