Search - Bizet, Bumbry, Vickers :: Carmen

Great performance, great sound

madamemusico | Cincinnati, Ohio USA | 07/13/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When I was a teenager, the first opera I ever saw was "Carmen"--a student matinee performance with Nedda Casei in the title role. I thought she was terrific, but when I went to purchase a recording of the opera I was steered by the salesepeople. "Oh, you've got to buy Callas! Oh, you've got to hear Resnik! Oh, Leontyne Price is magnificent!" But I enjoyed none of them.This was the first "Carmen" that satisfied me and, 30 years later, it still holds up pretty well. Wonderfully, in fact. Granted, the actors who speak their lines don't sound like the singers, but I have always been against the practice of using actors to sub for singers, and a lot of recordings do this. As for the singing, it is uniformly glorious, and in fact Kostas Paskalis (what DID become of him?) is the finest Escamillo I have ever heard next to Lawrence Tibbett. De Burgos conducts in a lean yet flexible Toscanini-like manner, and the entire opera glows with life.Granted, the Maazel recording with Domingo, Migenes-Johnson and Raimondi has the edge in modern sonics, and Migenes-Johnson is the best Carmen I've ever heard, but this "other" Carmen is magnificent, too. I'd say that if you want to hear a great CARMEN (the part), get the Maazel, but if you want a great CARMEN (the entire opera), get this one."

...This is a great recording!

jamieanderson19 | Midwest, USA | 07/13/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"...Bumbry only characterizes lightly until thelast act...then she pulls out all the stops. Yet she sings beautifully, and except for Julia Migenes-Johnson, there is no finer Carmen on a complete recording (now, if only we had ONE complete Carmen with the intensity of Maria Gay...oh well!). The rest of the performance is marvelous. Vickers is the greatest Don Jose on records, period; Freni is far more intense here than in her other portrayals of the role; and de Burgos conducts with tremendous passion and musical cohesion. If other reviewers can give 5 stars to the lackluster Carmens of Marilyn Horne and Jessye Norman, I can surely give Mme. Bumbry 5 as well."

A must have Carmen

P. Byrne | 04/05/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When I purchased this Carmen, I was curious about the lead, Bumbry. She was more than I had hoped. This is a luscious voiced, seductive Carmen, that never over plays her hand. I now play it as often as my Callas Carmen, whcih I love for the intellignece and drama that only Maria could bring to this often over done role. My biggest surprise was the Paskalis portrayal of Escamillo. Another reviewer here has said that he finds Kostas Paskalis almost "Verdian". Well, he certainly is, and I mean that in the right sense, for to be able to sing Verdi correctly, you can also sing anything else. Verdi is the absolute master of the writing for the voice, bel canto, if you like. Paskalis is, in my humble opinion, one of the finest Verdi singers of our time, often overlooked in the wake of more hyped, but less intelligent baritones such as Milnes, etc. He brings a darkness and complexity to his sound that is far beyond the ususal swagger that is all most baritones can make of this often one dimensional role. If you find you like this fascinating Greek baritone, I would highly reccommend getting a DVD or video of his Macbeth from Glyndbourne. It is spellbinding. It is unfortunate that there is no video record of his Escamillo."