Carmen!

[DarkAngel]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2XyHfi50yE&feature=related

I love the new 2008 DVD version with A.C. Antonacci and Jonas Kaufman, has a lusty bohemian working class feel that other versions lack, very high quality widescreen picture, Pappano conducts with gusto and Antonacci has a sassy earthy tone and a great swagger in her performance.

[MN Dave]

Cleavage.

[Lilas Pastia]

OK thanks for finding that............the topic listing of "carmen!" does not come up when you do a "carmen" search

I don't know what's the problem, but GMG's 'search' feature could certainly use some of Google's tricks. It's rare I don't fond a god, useful reference on Google, but GMG's search engine has a mind of its own. We can't all be living encyclopaedias  .

[Gurn Blanston]

It is true that this search engine is no Google, however, if you are in the area you want to check for, the logical one (in this case "Opera and Vocal"), and then you do a simple search "carmen" in the search box, I came up with 3 pages of hits, obviously including this thread several times over. However (and I didn't try it just now) from memory I can say that if I had been out on the main board and typed 'carmen' in the box, it wouldn't have come up with nearly the same number of hits. I don't know why this is, but I learned it years ago and never do it anymore. Perhpas it has been improved, but it doesn't sound like it...



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Listening to:
BPO / von Karajan - Korsakov Symphonic Suite Scheherezade Op 35 Pt 4

[Gurn Blanston]

Cleavage.

And splendid at that. This is the version that I have, I was quite pleased with it.



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Listening to:
New York PO / Temirkanov - Rimsky Korsakov Russian Easter Overture Op 36

[DarkAngel]

For Carmen "collectors" this 1979 version should be obtained..........great leads featuring Anna Moffo and Franco Correlli, super supporting cast Helen Donath, Jose Van Dam, Arleen Auger. Maazel conducts an alert reading that packs a punch........but there is a serious flaw, spoken dialog tracks by actors destroys the flow of events, best you can do is skip through them........very very cheap at Amazon, I got it for Moffo as heard below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VdwLraaKa0

[Lilas Pastia]

These seem very late dates for both Moffo and Corelli (but not for the other cast membere though). Moffo's voice deteriorated very quickly in the 70s. From the youtube extract, I hear an excellent orchestral and choral work - in quite splendid sound. Not so sure about Moffo's Carmen. Very conversational, as if she was afraid of letting the stops out. A curate's egg maybe?

In any case, thanks for the info, I had no idea it existed.

[DarkAngel]

As good/interesting as Moffo is there she is but a sweet pussy cat compared to the power unleased by the tigress Maria Callas, what a smoldering tempestuous delivery..........if I could keep only one Carmen it would definitely be the Callas (too bad this was not done in mid 1950s in prime voice)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wP8_aYZc9ew&feature=related

[DarkAngel]

These seem very late dates for both Moffo and Corelli (but not for the other cast membere though). Moffo's voice deteriorated very quickly in the 70s. From the youtube extract, I hear an excellent orchestral and choral work - in quite splendid sound. Not so sure about Moffo's Carmen. Very conversational, as if she was afraid of letting the stops out. A curate's egg maybe?

In any case, thanks for the info, I had no idea it existed.

Yes no doubt that Moffo had peaked out by early 1970s and was in decline, but we must make do with what is available..........very very cheap for collectors   

[Lilas Pastia]

Seeing and hearing is believing! Callas never misses a beat on the music's difficult rythmic twists and turns. This is a swift rendition, making her verbal characterization all the more expressive. Watching her is a lesson in phrasing. Everything is enunciated with utmost clarity and expression (in that order in french opera). It's very difficult to sing those phrases, shutting the voice at the exact moment a word has been precisely enunciated. Most  Carmens have their mouth open throughout the aria, and they make a meal of the words.

[Tsaraslondon]

As good/interesting as Moffo is there she is but a sweet pussy cat compared to the power unleased by the tigress Maria Callas, what a smoldering tempestuous delivery..........if I could keep only one Carmen it would definitely be the Callas (too bad this was not done in mid 1950s in prime voice)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wP8_aYZc9ew&feature=related

Too bad Callas never performed the role on stage. Understandably perhaps, I find her Carmen totally convincing, but it is a controversial portrayal and there are many who don't like it at all. Barak, I recall, finds it too shrewish. For my part, I find her mercurial and unpredictable. Quick to anger, to be sure, but sexy and feminine too, dangereuse et belle, as Micaela describes her. The set uses the now discredited Guiraud recitatives, to be sure, but in all other aspects is very French in feel, with a French conductor, orchestra, chorus and soloists. I prefer Pretre's swift conducting to Karajan's overblown, Germanic conception, for instance, beautifully though his orchestras play for him. Gedda, who also recorded Jose for Beecham, is the perfect embodiment of the nice boy gone bad, and sings in impeccable French (compare his delivery to Corelli's execrable French), Massard is a good, if not great Escamillo, and Guiot is, to my mind, a good deal better than many of her more famous counterparts, her aria firmly and cleanly sung, and with a certain amount of pluck; Micaela may be a nice girl, but she is no shrinking violet.

I'll just quote again, Richard Osborne's closing sentence , when reviewing the CD reissue of this set;

[Callas's] Carmen is one of those rare experiences like Piaf singing "La Vie En Rose" or Dietrich in "The Blue Angel" which is inimitable, unforgettable, and on no account to be missed./i]

[Brian]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wP8_aYZc9ew&feature=related

I can't be as specifically appreciative as Barak, but I can say: WOWZA.

[Lilas Pastia]

I think Callas' art is heard at its very best in this aria's middle section "l'oiseau que tu croyais surprendre' (about 2:00 - 2:30 in the clip). Watch and hear the combination of impeccable legato in the singing line with the words' enunciation.

As I mentioned, she has a way of inserting a micro second pause between each section of the couplet: l'oiseau que tu croyais surprendre/battit de l'aile et s'envola/ l'amour est loin/tu peux l'attendre/, etc. It never makes the aria sound sectional or the line syncopated. It's a masterclass in expression allied to one about breathing technique (all the breath intakes occur during one of these almost 'invisible' pauses). Toscanini is on record for commenting 'I have nothing personally against Callas. But you can't understand a word of what she's singing'. Right 

I still find Callas' commercial recording of Carmen unappealing. True, I used the word shrewish. Steely would be a good synonym for what I wanted to convey. IMO she had become more 'dangereuse' than 'belle' over the years. This 1962 video (and the Callas à Paris Carmen arias) were done before that. Callas vs Callas is setting the bar at an almost impossible level. I only find her wanting (in 1965) because she was so damn good in 1961-62.

I had the EMI Carmen for years on lp, and I preferred Bernstein's searing emotion and his singers' way of relating to one another (not to mention their excellent basic vocal colours). As a francophone I ought to have dissed it because of the often terrible accents, but the whole enterprise oozes sincerity and high drama, as well as being the most humorous Carmen I've come across. Vocally, I think Krause's Escamillo, Adriana Maliponte's Micaela, the various choruses and the two gipsy girls are just perfect. My favourite Habanera and Chanson gitane have always been Victoria de los Angeles'. She has a way of singing with a smile, a wink or a smirk you can actually 'hear'. And her French is unimpeachable. Time has passed, and I recently received the big EMI box set of all Callas recordings. I'll make a point to start my investigation with the 1965 Carmen and report in due time. Tant mieux if I come up with a better opinion of it.

Some commentators of the time (1956 or 57) have also mentioned that kind of unpleasantness with the Scala performances of Barbiere. She was formidable vocally, but many thought hers was a suffragette Rosina. I don't know (never heard the Scala performances), but that's the feeling I have with her various Carmens. The earlier ones are winsome AND also more interesting vocally (greater range of colours).

BTW I totally agree with Tsaras about the Karajan Carmen. All the vocal ingredients are first quality, but the dish is unpalatable. One of the worst french opera recordings of its era.

[Tsaraslondon]

Barak, I take your point about Callas's voice having deteriorated quite markedly even since 1962, however I am often surprised, when listening to the complete 1964 set, at how economically she achieves her effects. Admittedly, as a concept, it lacks much of De Los Angeles's charm (possibly closer to Merimee than Bizet), but I feel the role cam take such an approach. I thought Baltsa was tremendous in the role, when I saw her at Covent Garden. She was refreshingly free of those awful hands on hip mannerisms most Carmens resort to, and played her almost as a wild, untamed animal. I bought the second Karajan recording on the strength of those performances, but was terribly disappointed, not in her, but in the whole recording, which, as I said, is turgid, Germanic and overblown in the extreme. Still, Baltsa and Carreras do manage to whip up something of a storm in their last duet. I also bought the Met DVD, but this suffers from many of the same problems, and I can't help feeling a certain amount of routine has crept into the performances of Baltsa and Carreras, which certainly wasn't there when I saw them at Covent Garden, quite early in their partnership in this opera. That Covent Garden performance remains one of the most memorable evenings of my opera going experience.

Incidentally, did you know that Legge originally wanted Callas for the Beecham recording? Beecham was happy with the choice, but Callas declined, saying her French was not yet good enough. How many other international singers would even consider such a thing?

[DarkAngel]

Callas comes first but.............
If not for Callas portrayal of the exotic firey sensous Carmen, best balanced overall Carmen opera "probably" has to go 1977 Abbado/LSO version now remastered for DG Originals, fits on 2CDs for extra savings. Another deep luxury cast:

Teresa Berganza - Placido Domingo, Ilena Cotrubas, Sherril Milnes

Berganza gives us the light care free spirit Carmen like a fresh summer breeze to contrast the darker seductive version of Callas, it works on its own terms but I prefer the Callas swagger. Domingo in prime voice makes great Don Jose, the deep supporting cast and great sound top off a great version with few obvious weakness. I do really like Berganza but prefer her in the more innocent roles like Rosina (barber seville) or Zerlina (don giovani) for Carmen I must have that sensous gypsy character..............

[DarkAngel]

Tsaraslondon & Barak

Curious as to what your top 3 desert island picks are for Carmen, your must haves..........

[MN Dave]

Me too. I sense a Carmen in my future.  0:)

[Lilas Pastia]

Youtube Callas Carmens make for fascinating comparisons. The Habanera from the EMI complete set is there, and it bears out some of the misgivings I have mentioned. What I hear is a deterioration of the registers that leads her to abuse of her chest tones. What was vocally seamless and chiselled in 1962 has become looser, with the voice vibrating more freely. I think it's the constant resort to chest tones that makes her sound harsher both vocally and histrionically. There's also a piano accompanied 1974 performance from Tokyo, where she pours out the tones with practically no deterioration in quality. It's the seams that are looser and not perfectly controlled. The basic material was still amazingly good. But don't make too much out of that criticism. I'm comparing the greatest singer of the last century(*) to herself. What's amazing is how well-suited her voice was in 1962. It doesn't sound at all as if the switch to mezzo roles was made out of necessity.

Also on Youtube is a 1972 De Los Angeles Habanera which does show substantial deterioration of the vocal material. Victoria's singing here is slightly breathy, unsupported in the lower register and not as alluring as in the Beecham set.

Carmen is one of those jinxed operas where no particular set achieves uniform distinction throughout. Something goes wrong one way or another. I would definitely put the Bernstein in the top three, warts and all. Cluytens' set is superb in most respects, but a constricted mono Carmen doesn't cut the mustard. Then there are the Beecham and Abbado sets, which I know only in parts. I own the Abbado, but haven't listened to it yet.  I never owned the Beecham, but have heard many excerpts. I'm bothered by the cavernous sound. What about the Solti ? I don't expect perfection - there has never been a perfect Carmen. But the line up seems good. As I mentioned, I'll listen to the Callas Prêtre and Berganza Abbado this year - can't be more precise, as Carmen is an opera I adore but can't listen to repeatedly - contrary to the Bruckner 8 th 

(*) in her chosen repertoire of course.

[DarkAngel]

The 1963 Karajan/VPO Carmen is not really a top contender, has some very good parts but also a fatal flaw.
Franco Corelli as Don Jose and Mirella Freni as Micaela shine brightly near thier peak singing career and HVK gives a decent orchestral account with VPO, but the fatal flaw is Leontyne Price just does not have Carmen in her blood.

No gypsy swagger, no smoldering sensuality.......just a lovely smoothed over presentation with no real character.
The opposite of Callas..........

[Lilas Pastia]

I caught two Carmens on the wings, in bits and pieces. I do my errands on Saturday, and that's opera day on the radio. A Bavarian Opera production with  Julia Gertseva and Jose Cura I heard about a month ago, and today's Met broadcast with Elina Garanca and Roberto Alagna. Barihunk Teddy Tahu Rhodes sang Escamillo in both.  I didn't like him today. He turned the 'other man' into a nasty snarler, and his French is pretty atrocious. In any case, apart from minor defects, I was very impressed by what I heard in both productions.

Very good Carmens, but outstanding Don Josés. Apparently Alagna suffered from a bad cold and his cover sang from the wings in Act 3 (from what I gather - I missed it, but caught the after show comments). From what I heard of him he was very fine, with a powerfully expressive Flower Song. He shouldn't have attempted the piano ending though - it's a voice trap. Only male Caballés can make musical sense of it. But Alagna's forte is his incredible sense of the text and his unparalleled way with the French language. A textbook lesson in perfect diction delivered in the most natural way.

The Munich production featured darker-voiced principals. Indeed, I think Cura could sing Escamillo without any problem. Gertseva has a sumptuous, rich voice that easily encompasses the role's tessitura. I found this extract from the last act on youtube. Hard to tell if she would have been good in all aspects of the role (I heard most of Act II and III, but missed I entirely). Conversely, I heard the second half of Act I and most of Act II, but missed III in the Met Carmen. Lively conducting from Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

Speaking of Rhodes' bad French, it makes me think of Tsaraslondon's comment about Callas' refusal to sing the role because of imperfect French. Ayayaye ! I'm not sure about that one. When she sang 'Callas à Paris' in 1961, she was coached by Janine Reiss for the language part. Reiss certainly did an extraordinary job, because there is  no trace of a 'foreign' accent on that disc (I recall a very sligfht instance or two in the whole album  . ). Today's Carmen, Garanca sang extremely well, but had minor issued with the language. She sang Je té pousserai instead of  Je te pousserai. No big deal, except it changed the meaning from 'I wil push you' to 'I will marry you'. Minuscule glitches like that make the 'native' brain stop and the flow of the music is lost. I think that's why I'll never be 100%  satisfied with any single version.

I forgot to mention a good contender in the record sweepstakes: the Frühbeck EMI benefits from lively and very elegant playing, possibly the best since Cluytens. Excellent playing, choral singing, sound and comprimarii. I've never liked Freni's prissy Micaela nor Vickers' crooning José, but better that than the pumped up, strangulated capon that occasionally ventures in the streets of Séville...