# Favourite Carmen?



## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Which singer is your favourite Carmen? And which recording is (in your opinion) the best?

I have my own list but I'll wait and see what others think first.


----------



## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Agnes Baltsa in both of these


----------



## Cavaradossi (Aug 2, 2012)

I don't know about recordings, but the best I've seen so far is Elina Garanca based on her searing Met HD performance.
Honorable mention to Denyce Graves.


----------



## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

My choice for Carmen would be either Baltsa or Teresa Berganza on the 1980s DG recording with Abbado conducting. That recording also has Domingo, Milnes, and Cotrubas, and I can definitely recommend it.


----------



## DarkAngel (Aug 11, 2010)

Callas for CD
AC Antonacci for Video


----------



## TxllxT (Mar 2, 2011)

MAuer said:


> My choice for Carmen would be either Baltsa or Teresa Berganza on the 1980s DG recording with Abbado conducting. That recording also has Domingo, Milnes, and Cotrubas, and I can definitely recommend it.


I know Teresa Berganza + Abbado, but I don't like Domingo in it. Also those terrible long speeches inbetween drive me nuts


----------



## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

I have Los Angeles with Beecham. She is a real charmer. You can see why Jose falls for her. But isn't she just a bit too nice for a woman who ensnars a man into deserting and then dumps him? Beechams' conducting shows a real flair for the score but the supporting cast is only fair.
Callas is very interesting (of course) but the frailities of her voice, the general cast around her and a conductor who wants to rattle the whole thing off at speed do not add enjoyment.
Price on Karajan's first recording is really good. This is surely what Carmen is about. The supporting cast sing well too although Corelli's bastardised French will make Francophiles wince. But the singing is superb. Some of Karajan's tempi are on the slow side but the whole thing is tremendously exciting.
I also have Berganza who sings the role really well but is a little cool. But on this set by Abbado there is good singing and the dialogue well spoken. Not too keen on Milne's Toreodore but that is my personal reaction. Probably the best middle of the road Carmen.
Baltsa is Karajan's Carmen in his DG version with the BPO. She is everything a Carmen sholuld be. Carreras is also good and Van Dam a good, French, preening bulfighter. Everything has been done with care. A pity about the dialogue spoken by actors who sound nothing like the singers. Karajan conducts affectionately but dramatically.
If I just choose one Carmen iot would be Baltsa. If just one recording Karajan with Price.


----------



## sharik (Jan 23, 2013)

among videos its Obraztsova's -


----------



## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

I must confess looking at that, I do wonder what Jose saw in her!

Baltsa was an electrifying Carmen on stage.


----------



## sharik (Jan 23, 2013)

DavidA said:


> I must confess looking at that, I do wonder what Jose saw in her!


well, in operas it is *voice* that matters. Montserrat Caballe for example. Baltsa has no voice nor looks either, neither she acts like a woman from the 19th century which is essential for understanding this opera.


----------



## DarkAngel (Aug 11, 2010)

To complete a Carmen CD collection do look into historical recordings of Rise Stevens and Solange Michel from 1950s


----------



## DarkAngel (Aug 11, 2010)

Cavaradossi said:


> I don't know about recordings, but the best I've seen so far is* Elina Garanca *based on her searing Met HD performance. Honorable mention to Denyce Graves.


Garanca certainly has the "swagger" good looks and voice to play Carmen, I personally did not like the Carmen production put on by the MET that much, prefer the look/feel of ROH production with Antonacci


----------



## Francesca (Feb 24, 2013)

Callas and Domingo the best of the past - separate performances of course - but a recent version with Antonacci and Kaufmann runs close, especially Kaufmann who is superb as Don Jose.


----------



## Francesca (Feb 24, 2013)

I agree, while voice is paramount in any opera, for Carmen you have to believe that she can seduce Don Jose - she does not have to be beautiful but she has to have great charm and force of character, which Callas certainly had.


----------



## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

sharik said:


> well, in operas it is *voice* that matters. Montserrat Caballe for example. Baltsa has no voice nor looks either, neither she acts like a woman from the 19th century which is essential for understanding this opera.


I would disagree with you about Baltsa. Voice only is OK on disc. But when you see the opera you have to believe at least partly in what is in front of you. I have a Mastersingers on DVD which is ruined for me as the Walther looks as though he had wandered in from Falstaff by mistake. Similarly a large or elderly Carmen strains belief.


----------



## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

DavidA said:


> I would disagree with you about Baltsa. Voice only is OK on disc. But when you see the opera you have to believe at least partly in what is in front of you. I have a Mastersingers on DVD which is ruined for me as the Walther looks as though he had wandered in from Falstaff by mistake. Similarly a large or elderly Carmen strains belief.


She was a great Carmen on stage.


----------



## sharik (Jan 23, 2013)

DavidA said:


> when you see the opera you have to believe at least partly in what is in front of you. I have a Mastersingers on DVD which is ruined for me as the Walther looks as though he had wandered in from Falstaff by mistake. Similarly a large or elderly Carmen strains belief.


i do believe i see the real Carmen when Obraztsova sings it and i don't when i see Baltsa or Gharantcha, because we should also keep in mind it was the 19th century that the events took place.

as for Metropolitan Meistersingers, the tenor's voice did not sound convincing in the first place, this is what affected his appearance. Pavarotti would have sung that part so, that nobody noticed he is actually fat.


----------



## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

I can't say I'm fond of Obraztsova's blowsy, matronly-sounding voice, either. To my ears, it's lacking in any charm or seductiveness.


----------



## sharik (Jan 23, 2013)

MAuer said:


> I can't say I'm fond of Obraztsova's blowsy, matronly-sounding voice, either. To my ears, it's lacking in any charm or seductiveness


read the book. Carmen pertains to literature first off, and only then to music. Obraztsova does everything according to the character the book describes.


----------



## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

The greatest Carmen I have ever heard was Conchita Supervia ,once heard it is difficult to listen to anyone else.but there is no complete recording only excerpts with the fine tenor Gaston Micheletti.
I recorded Maria Ewings's very graphic version off the television.
With both of these artists you have to like Carmen down and dirty,whatever the book might say and I have not read it---or knew there was one.
Apart from these Beecham's is marvellous but De Los Angeles is certainly not dirty.


----------



## sharik (Jan 23, 2013)

moody said:


> whatever the book might say and I have not read it---or knew there was one


omg, you guys... you ...well, no wonder the names like Baltsa & Gharantcha was even mentioned here!


----------



## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

sharik said:


> omg, you guys... you ...well, no wonder the names like Baltsa & Gharantcha was even mentioned here!


Don't blow a valve,I and others listen to an opera not a book--i haven't read Dumas' "Lady of the Camelias" either.


----------



## sharik (Jan 23, 2013)

moody said:


> i haven't read Dumas' "Lady of the Camelias" either


don't even try to compare... the former is a masterpiece, and the latter is just another book.


----------



## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

sharik said:


> don't even try to compare... the former is a masterpiece, and the latter is just another book.


I'll leave you to quietly read.


----------



## JCarmel (Feb 3, 2013)

I saw Agnes Baltsa and Jose Carreras in Carmen at the Royal Opera House and Agnes Baltsa was very good in the role...a 'hot' Carmen! But my favourite recording is most definetly this one...









Yes, this is a less-fiery Carmen from Teresa Berganza but a wonderfully-sung one. Everything about this set...save perhaps the now rather elderly recording, is very rewarding. I never tire of listening to it. Placido as Don Jose, Ileana Cotrubas is Micaela with Sherrill Milnes as the Toreador, Escamillo.


----------



## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

JCarmel said:


> I saw Agnes Baltsa and Jose Carreras in Carmen at the Royal Opera House and Agnes Baltsa was very good in the role...a 'hot' Carmen! But my favourite recording is most definetly this one...


In the eighties? We might have been at the same performance!


----------



## JCarmel (Feb 3, 2013)

What a nice thought, Natalie!
I'll rummage-around and find my old programme...I've got it somewhere and I'll let you know exactly when.
I went with my Mum, my Aunt Eileen and a friend and we had a "box", no less. Though as the plebs we are, we sat there in the interval, eating packed sandwiches... and uncorking the old Thermos Flasks for a cuppa, without having to queue or pay the ROH's exalted price for same!!


----------



## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

sharik said:


> read the book. Carmen pertains to literature first off, and only then to music. Obraztsova does everything according to the character the book describes.


Yes, but the opera is only based on the book. It is not the book but a composer's interpretation which is softer than the book.


----------



## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

JCarmel said:


> I saw Agnes Baltsa and Jose Carreras in Carmen at the Royal Opera House and Agnes Baltsa was very good in the role...a 'hot' Carmen! But my favourite recording is most definetly this one...
> 
> View attachment 13706
> 
> ...


I have this recording but cannot seem to get into it. I'll have to give it another spin.


----------



## JCarmel (Feb 3, 2013)

Perhaps try some excerpts first....like Don Jose's aria with Micaela. Placido and Ileana sing this with such touching emotion...and then my favourite scene on this recording...(Act 3?) In the encampment, with that lovely little duet sung by Mercedes and Frasquita.... and then Carmen reads the cards...turning-up that fateful Ace of Spades!


----------



## suteetat (Feb 25, 2013)

I think Baltsa is one of those singers, either you like her or hate her. She could sound a bit tough and rough sometimes. Love her as Santuzza, hate her as Donna Elvira. Carmen was a coin toss for me. I found her not quite sensual enough but she can be very dramatic. Her Carmen used to be my favourite set but mostly for Karajan, van Dam and Ricciarelli and a bit for Carreras rather than for Baltsa. My current favourite though is Solti with Troyanos/Domingo/te Kanawa. Troyanos may be a touch cool.
On video, Karajan set with Bumbry and Vickers outsang pretty much any recent videos that I have seen.
Horne is interesting, just try not to picture what she looks like  but I am not a big fan of McCracken.


----------



## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

suteetat said:


> I think Baltsa is one of those singers, either you like her or hate her. She could sound a bit tough and rough sometimes. Love her as Santuzza, hate her as Donna Elvira. Carmen was a coin toss for me. I found her not quite sensual enough but she can be very dramatic. Her Carmen used to be my favourite set but mostly for Karajan, van Dam and Ricciarelli and a bit for Carreras rather than for Baltsa. My current favourite though is Solti with Troyanos/Domingo/te Kanawa. Troyanos may be a touch cool.
> On video, Karajan set with Bumbry and Vickers outsang pretty much any recent videos that I have seen.
> Horne is interesting, just try not to picture what she looks like  but I am not a big fan of McCracken.


I think for sensuality Leontyn Price with Karajan just about tops. I know the performance is not too all tastes but I find the whole thing very convincing.


----------



## sharik (Jan 23, 2013)

DavidA said:


> the opera is only based on the book


if we take Verdi's _Otello_, how can we say its only based on the book?.. the same with Carmen - an entire literature tradition shines through it and makes it a very special piece that we may not interpret freely.


----------



## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

sharik said:


> if we take Verdi's _Otello_, how can we say its only based on the book?.. the same with Carmen - the entire literature tradition shines through it and makes it a very special piece we may not interpret freely.


Otello is based on Shakespeare's play but Boito added some touches of his own, like Iago's Credo. I think to 'stick to the book' is putting yourself in a straight jacket the composer maybe never intended or even saw. I know in the case of Peter Grimes, Britten objected to Jon Vickers' portrayal as it was more like Crabbe's character that the one he had in mind when he composed the piece. Mind you, I wouldn't want to be without Vickers' awesome Grimes. Shows that even sometimes composers don't see all the possibilities of their creations.


----------



## sharik (Jan 23, 2013)

DavidA said:


> I think to 'stick to the book' is putting yourself in a straight jacket


every time someone complained about straight-jacketing, things changed for worse - orchestras, conductors, singers lost their quality, and here we are: we buy Blu Ray HD with *nothing* to watch or listen to on it! ...maybe this is time to put ourselves back in a straight jacket?


----------



## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

sharik said:


> if we take Verdi's _Otello_, how can we say its only based on the book?.. the same with Carmen - an entire literature tradition shines through it and makes it a very special piece that we may not interpret freely.


No,we interpret the composers wishes.


----------



## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

sharik said:


> if we take Verdi's _Otello_, how can we say its only based on the book?.. the same with Carmen - an entire literature tradition shines through it and makes it a very special piece that we may not interpret freely.


Boito changed the emphasis to such a degree that the newspapers of the time referred to the opera as Boito's "Iago".


----------



## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

For that matter, Donizetti's librettist made quite a few changes to Scott's "_The Bride of Lammermoor_" (and yes, I've read the book -- as well as Dumas fils' "_The Lady of the Camellias_" and Goethe's "_Sorrows of Young Werther_"). In Scott, the real villain is Lucy's mother, not her brother; Henry is only a small boy. And Lucy doesn't actually manage to kill Arthur Bucklaw, either.


----------



## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

sharik said:


> every time someone complained about straight-jacketing, things changed for worse - orchestras, conductors, singers lost their quality, and here we are: we buy Blu Ray HD with *nothing* to watch or listen to on it! ...maybe this is time to put ourselves back in a straight jacket?


I am all\ for sticking to the composer's and libtrettist's wishes but often a piece can take interpretation. However, let's remember, we are talking about the composer's interpretation of the story not the original author's intentions. What we need to avoid is idiot producers who put their own interpretation on a piece which often is totally at odds to what the composer intended.


----------



## sharik (Jan 23, 2013)

DavidA said:


> What we need to avoid is idiot producers


ah that's another matter. Multiculturalism and its policies is behind today's producers who are ordered to deliberately desecrate the works of Great Masters.


----------



## rborganist (Jan 29, 2013)

At the risk of dating myself, I got to see Marilyn Horne as Carmen when the Met toured, and James McCracken was her Don Jose. This portly little woman with a very pretty face walked out on stage, opened her mouth, and fifty pounds dropped away. She was the epitome of sexy. McCracken sang with beauty and passion, and he was one of the few tenors to sing the high b flat in the Flower Song pianissimo as Bizet demanded. No one could figure out how he did it, but when I heard Carmen broadcast last week, that tenor also sang the high b flat pianissimo, proving that it can indeed be done if a tenor has the requisite technique. So my vote goes to Marilyn Horne, and by the way, the whole cast was excellent, as was the conductor (no less than Leonard Bernstein).


----------



## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Maybe last week's tenor was Jonas Kaufmann, as I've heard him sing that note pianissimo.


----------

