Carmen / Troyanos, Domingo, van Dam, Te Kanawa; Sir Georg Solti
Our Price: $50.98
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Buy Used: from $33.97 (click here)
Category: Music CD
See more new music releases
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
Music CD Cover
Edition: Music CDCD Release Date: 1990-10-25
Music Label: Decca
Soundtracks:
Music CD 1
- Carmen: Act 1: Prelude
- Carmen: Act 1: Sur la place, chacun passe (Soldats)
- Carmen: Act 1: Avec la garde montante (Gamins)
- Carmen: Act 1: La cloche a sonne (Jeunes Gens)
- Carmen: Act 1: Mais nous ne voyons pas la Carmencita! (Soldats)
- Carmen: Act 1: L'amour est un oiseau rebelle (Carmen)
- Carmen: Act 1: Carmen! sur tes pas nous nous pressons tous! (Jeunes Gens)
- Carmen: Act 1: Parle-moi de ma mere! (Don Jose)
- Carmen: Act 1: Au Secours! au secours! (Cigarieres)
- Carmen: Act 1: Avez vous quelque chose a repondre? (Zuniga)
- Carmen: Act 1: Pres des remparts de Seville (Carmen)
- Carmen: Act 1: Voici l'ordre; partez... (Zuniga)
- Carmen: Entr'acte
- Carmen: Act 2: Les tringles des sistres tintaient (Carmen)
- Carmen: Act 2: Vivat, vivat le torero!
- Carmen: Act 2: Votre toast, je peux vous le rendre (Escamillo)
- Carmen: Act 2: Nous avons en tete une affaire (Dancaire)
- Carmen: Act 2: Halte-la! Qui va la? (Don Jose)
- Carmen: Act 2: Je vais danser en votre honneur (Carmen)
- Carmen: Act 2: Au quartier! pour l'appel! (Carmen)
- Carmen: Act 2: La fleur que tu m'avais jetee (Don Jose)
- Carmen: Act 2: Non! tu ne m'aimes pas! (Carmen)
- Carmen: Act 2: Hola! Carmen! Hola! Hola! (Zuniga)
- Carmen: Act 2: Bel officier (Carmen)
- Carmen: Entr'acte
- Carmen: Act 3: Ecoute, ecoute, compagnon (Contrebandiers)
- Carmen: Act 3: Melons! Coupons! (Frasquita) (Mercedes)
- Carmen: Act 3: Quant au douanier, c'est notre affaire! (Frasquita) (Mercedes) (Carmen)
- Carmen: Act 3: Je dis que rien ne m'epouvante (Micaela)
- Carmen: Act 3: Je suis Escamillo (Escamillo)
- Carmen: Act 3: Hola! hola! Jose! (Carmen)
- Carmen: Entr'acte
- Carmen: Act 4: A deux cuartos! A deux cuartos! (Marchandes) (Marchands)
- Carmen: Act 4: Les voici, les voici (Marchandes) (Marchands) (Bohemiennes)
- Carmen: Act 4: C'est toi! (Carmen)
- Carmen: Act 4: Viva! viva! (La Foule)
Free Music Notes for Carmen / Troyanos, Domingo, van Dam, Te Kanawa; Sir Georg Solti
Free Music Review: Finally, Carmen as Carmen was meant to be
Hit: 5 Stars
First of all, History:
Carmen is not a grand opera. The belief in the opposite is one of the most artistically catastrophic malapropisms in the history of Western music. Georges Bizet, the greatest French composer of his day (in the world of Charles Gounod and Jacques Offenbach), is remembered today as a tiger of a conductor, an unbending an inflexible stalwart of musical realism, anti-establishment, and verismo (that red-blooded dramatic art perfected in part by Puccini and Mascagni). He composed Carmen in the tradition of the op?ra-comique, an operatic sphere dating back to Mozartian comedy a la Le Nozze di Figaro, with musical sections accompanied by spoken recitatives or dialogues.
The Homeric tale of opera's creation, premiere, and juvenile existence is a hallmark in artistic tragedy. Bizet's vision was not (and, for the most part could not be) accepted nor appreciated in the Europe of 1875, the Europe of Wagner, Ludwig II, and Bayreuth. Audiences were shocked by the "vulgarity" of the characters (the lewd and lecherous gypsy, the cowardly and un-laudable corporal, the heinous sportsman), the onstage homicide, and the musical "coarseness"; Carmen offended the blue-blooded aristocracy which peopled the Parisian operatic world. Thus, in light of the disillusioned Bizet's premature death after the premiere, the opera's fate was sealed. Charles Guiraud, who supplied Offenbach with his musical recitatives, compiled the formerly ubiquitous vocal passages where the former melodramas had existed.
However, the true nature of the opera was preserved in the end by Bizet himself, who published a complete and unadulterated version of his conducting score shortly before his demise. (It was, at least, the version of the opera that existed before rehearsals began; due to the laceration of memoirs surrounding the notoriously savage practices, little is known of the various addendums Bizet made, as well as any deletions.) Fractions of the post-rehearsal score were also discovered by the esteemed German musicologist, Fritz Oeser. Sir Georg Solti conducted what has become recognized as the Oeser Score for the first time at Covent Garden in 1967; this was the first time since its cataclysmic premiere that the world has truly known Bizet's masterpiece.
In terms of the recording...
The London Philharmonic Orchestra, under Solti, is in impeccable form. The instantly recognizable Prelude is appropriately bombastic and the Entr'actes to Acts III and IV are ethereal and enthralling moments, respectively. Particularly outstanding additions to this recording are the effervescent choral sections, provided by the versatile John Alldis Choir (who excelled in Mehta's historic 1973 Turandot recording). "La choche a sonn?" is idyllic in its maundering and weightless vivacity. "Au secours! Au secours!" is a masterpiece in chaos and disorganization; "A deux cuartos! A deux cuartos!" is the epitome of a magnanimous operatic scene, with urchins, peddlers, exotic pedestrians, and the sun-drenched, dusty Spain of Goya.
The entire cast is inspired under the inimitable Solti. Due to the op?ra-comique recitatives, one might fear that the singers might lack the acting talents necessary to provide convincing and engaging performances. This is not the case; Tatiana Troyanos and Pl?cido Domingo, are, in many ways, actually more convincing when acting than singing, their vocal prowess notwithstanding!
Tatiana Troyanos is known for admitting that she was never comfortable when performing Carmen onstage. One must wonder why, for she is a vocal temptress and seductress, both irresistible and insidious in her interpretation. She possesses an exotic flare and presence unknown to most singers who attempt to conquer the role. Her darker, mezzo-soprano register provides her with a tortuously sublime, sexually invigorating autonomy, and yet, in spite of her depth, she is never glottal or throaty. She performs the Habanera ("L'amour est un oiseau rebelle") with garrulous abandon and levity. Her Seguidilla ("Pr?s de remparts de S?ville") is tantalizing; Troyanos brilliantly undoes Domingo's Don Jos?, rendering him defenseless against her bewitching powers. "Les tringles de sistres tintaient," featuring Norma Burrows as Frasquita and Jane Berbi? as Merc?d?s, is one of the finest trios to be found on operatic disc; Solti is also in grand form here and fails to fly off the handle like most conductors.
Domingo, a champion of the honorable but thick role, is a definitive Don Jos?. He surpasses Franco Corelli and Mario del Monaco in the lyrical sense, and he is more commanding than Jos? Carreras; only the magnanimous Jussi Bj?rling and Nicolai Gedda have provided comparable interpretations. The "Flower Song" ("La fleur que tu m'avais jet?e") is one of the most charming moments on the set. Domingo uses his baritonal depth to his advantage and paints a freshly mature portrait of the corporal, never descending into whining or peevishness. Dame Kiri te Kanawa is a redolent, auspicious Mica?la; the radiant New Zealander, even at this preliminary level of her career, is ineffably chaste and elegant in tone. "Je dis que rien ne m'?pouvante," her Act III solo, is a luminous highlight and adds a gorgeous dimension to an otherwise bland and overlookable character. Jos? van Dam, a denizen of the role of the pompous Escamillo, gives the most meretriciously turgid and bombastic performance of "Votre toast je peux vous le rendre" in modern recording history. He is truly the only viable toreador an opera fan is likely to hear. Bravo for the Belgian master! Stupendous!
Sir Thomas Allen, luxuriously cast, is excellent, immoral, and conniving in the small but potent role of Moral?s. Michel Roux and Michel S?n?chal are a delightful duo as the dubious smugglers Danc?are and Remendado. Their Act II quintet "Nous avons en t?te une affaire," with Troyanos, Burrowes, and Berbi?, is jovial and irresistibly jaunty. Bass Pierre Thau is surprisingly admirable as the flirtatious, boorish Lieutenant Zuniga. Even harsh-voiced Jacques Loreau is a treat as the oafish cantina proprietor Lillas Pastia, particularly in the conversations prior to and following the "Toreador Song."
This is the recording of Bizet's Carmen to own, even if exclusively. Few others have captured the same explosive drama and tension Solti, a spiteful and venomous Troyanos, and an enraged and enamored Domingo created in the homicidal finale of Act IV. (Leontyne Price and Franco Corelli form a close second in the RCA Victor Herbert von Karajan recording with the Wiener Philharmoniker.) One should not enjoy other versions of Carmen without experiencing this monumental achievement.
Carmen / Troyanos, Domingo, van Dam, Te Kanawa; Sir Georg Solti Poster
Tatiana Troyanos was reportedly never comfortable on stage as Carmen, but she sings it ravishingly well in this recording, in good voice and at home with the character. Placido Domingo, seemingly the only Don Jos? of our era, gives one of his best accounts of the role; Dame Kiri Te Kanawa sings beautifully as Mica?la, and Jose van Dam's Escamillo offers just the right blend of macho swagger. The dialogue is unusually well done, and Georg Solti's conducting, though lacking some Gaelic wit, gets the serious parts spot-on. --Sarah Bryan MillerOpera & Vocal Music CDs
Music Genres
Top music charts in The beautiful soprano voice of 'Kiri Te Kanawa'
Magic: Kiri Sings Michel LegrandRelease date: 1992-11-10; Music CD
Best price: $29.99
Kiri Sings KarlRelease date: 2006-10-09; Music CD
Best price: $4.75
Price in other shops:
J. Strauss - Die Fledermaus / Te Kanawa, Gruberova, Fassbaender, B?r, Wiener Philharmoniker, PrevinRelease date: 1991-11-08; Music CD
Best price: $21.99
Price in other shops:
Mozart - Die Zauberfl?te (The Magic Flute) / Araiza, Te Kanawa, Studer, Ramey, Lind, van Dam, B?r, MarrinerRelease date: 1990-09-12; Music CD
Best price: $25.79
Price in other shops:
Verdi - Otello / Pavarotti, Te Kanawa, Nucci, Rolfe-Johnson, SoltiRelease date: 1991-11-08; Music CD
Best price: $20.88
Price in other shops:
Kiri Te Kanawa - Songs of Inspiration / Julius Rudel, Mormon Tabernacle ChoirRelease date: 1989-10-23; Music CD
Best price: $10.19
Price in other shops:
Mozart: Exsultate, Jubilate, K. 165; Vesperae solennes de confessore, K. 339; Kyrie in D minor, K. 341; Ave verum corpus, K. 618Release date: 1990-10-25; Music CD
Best price: $2.91
Price in other shops:
Christmas with KiriRelease date: 1990-10-25; Music CD
Best price: $9.85
Price in other shops:
Kiri Te Kanawa Sings French Songs and AriasRelease date: 2005-06-21; Music CD
Best price: $5.06
Price in other shops:
Kiri Te Kanawa - Verdi & PucciniRelease date: 1990-10-25; Music CD
Best price: $19.98
Top Rated Albums
Verdi - Aida / Caball? ? Domingo ? Cossotto ? Ghiaurov ? Cappuccilli ? Roni ? NPO ? MutiRelease date: 2001-09-11; Music CD
Best price: $20.97
Price in other shops:
Mascagni - Cavalleria Rusticana & Leoncavallo - Pagliacci / Pavarotti, Freni, Varady, Cappuccilli, Gavazzeni, Patan?Release date: 1990-10-25; Music CD
Best price: $21.99
Price in other shops:
Giacomo Puccini: Tosca - Mirella Freni / Pl?cido Domingo / Samuel Ramey / Philharmonia Orchestra / Giuseppe SinopoliRelease date: 1992-09-15; Music CD
Best price: $21.99
Price in other shops:
Donizetti - La Fille du R?giment / Sutherland, Pavarotti, Malas, Sinclair, ROH Covent Garden, BonyngeRelease date: 1990-10-25; Music CD
Best price: $23.59
Price in other shops:
Puccini: Tosca (complete opera) with Maria Callas, Giuseppe di Stefano, Tito Gobbi, Victor de Sabata, Chorus & Orchestra of La Scala, MilanRelease date: 1997-08-19; Music CD
Best price: $15.99
Price in other shops:
Puccini - Madama Butterfly / Freni, Pavarotti, Ludwig, Wiener Phil., KarajanRelease date: 1990-10-25; Music CD
Best price: $31.50
Price in other shops:
Puccini - Turandot / Sutherland ? Pavarotti ? Caball? ? Ghiaurov ? Krause ? Pears ? LPO ? MehtaRelease date: 1990-10-25; Music CD
Best price: $22.45
Price in other shops:
Verdi - La Traviata / Cotrubas ? Domingo ? Milnes ? Bayerisches Staatsorchester ? Carlos KleiberRelease date: 1990-10-25; Music CD
Best price: $19.00
Price in other shops:
Verdi - Rigoletto / Sutherland, Pavarotti, Milnes, LSO, BonyngeRelease date: 1990-10-25; Music CD
Best price: $22.25
Price in other shops:
Puccini - La Boh?me / Freni, Pavarotti, Harwood, Ghiaurov, KarajanRelease date: 1990-10-25; Music CD
Best price: $20.72
Price in other shops: