Customer Reviews:

• Bad listing of performers
  No wonder that this has such a poor sale.Your performers list mentions the comprimarios, but not Micaela-Mirella Freni,Don Jose-Franco Corelli,Escamillio-Robert Merril.-AMAZON should stand for a better service information.I am happy to help with this.By the way have been 1993 in Vienna present during the recording session as a guest. Yur corrections would be appreciated....more info
• Lots of Fun
  This recording of "Carmen" isn't very subtle, or very elegant, or very idiomatic. The French pronunciation of the four principals is often unbelievably atrocious. Bizet probably wouldn't have recognized this as the tragicomic opera-comique that he wrote. But boy, is this recording ever entertaining!

  The principals may have terrible French, but they also have glorious voices, and that, combined with the playing of the Vienna Philharmonic, makes the recording absolutely gorgeous as sheer sound. Price, who never sang Carmen on the stage, here plays the part as a sort of cousin to Bess from PORGY AND BESS, and she sort of makes it work. Corelli's French is the worst of all, but his Don Jose sounds truly tortured and, in the final act, fearsome in a way that more stylish tenors can't match. The young Freni sounds magnificent in the thankless role of Micaela, and the ubiquitous Robert Merrill sounds, as usual, like a gorgeous-voiced All-American lunkhead.

  Karajan is Karajan: more concerned with beautiful sound than with anything else. Beautiful sound is what he gets, and the recording, produced by the great John Culshaw, is just plain fun to listen to. A guilty pleasure, perhaps, but a pleasure nonetheless....more info

• A relative success
  From his multiple readings of the nine Beethoven symphonies, to his controversial, unconventional production of Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen, to his individual achievements in the realms of Mozart, Verdi, Wagner, Puccini, Sibelius, Mahler, Strauss, and Schoenberg, the Austrian conductor-legend Herbert von Karajan left his irreplaceable fingerprint on the world of music. However, in spite of all his brilliance in the aforementioned and unmentioned spheres, Georges Bizet's relentlessly celebrated opera Carmen was as musical tapestry Karajan never fully understood.
  
  While Karajan aficionados plot their revenge for this seemingly gratuitous attack, it should be noted that he was not alone among conductors in this fault; in fact, when one considers than Carmen is the "C" in any beginner's guide to opera ("A" being Verdi's A?da and "B" being Puccini's La Boh¨¨me), it is almost laughable to discover how many disregarded the proper form in which Carmen should be played. Carmen was not a grand opera, despite what Sir Thomas Beecham, Georges Pr¨ºtre, Thomas Schippers, and the like wished so ardently to believe. Bizet composed Carmen in the tradition of the op¨¦ra-comique, a parallel of the modern musical, with musical sections coupled with spoken melodramas or dialogues. The most superb recorded example of the properly performed Carmen is the Sir Georg Solti recording with Tatiana Troyanos, Pl¨¢cido Domingo, Jos¨¦ van Dam, and Dame Kiri te Kanawa. (Karajan did make a similar recording later in his career, with Agnes Baltsa, Jos¨¦ Carreras, van Dam, and Katia Ricciarelli, but his interpretation was regrettably slow and vapid, and the melodramas were spoken (one must wonder why) by actors, rather than the singers.)
  
  In spite of all this, the stars of this recording are superb. Leontyne Price injects a little bit of Bess into her Carmen, which results in a soulful, lyrically beautiful, and dramatically venomous gypsy vamp. Her Habanera ("L'amour est un oiseau rebelle") and Seguidilla ("Pr¨¨s de remparts de S¨¦ville") are bewitching. Franco Corelli, who, in 1963, embodied the entire institution of opera with his sultry, sheik-like physique and his hot-blooded, titanic tenor register, is a full-fledged madman as the obsessed Don Jos¨¦. Robert Merrill is a bit too American as the swaggering toreador Escamillo, but his rendition of "Votre toast je peux vous le rendre" is nonetheless suave and debonair. Mirella Freni had not yet reached her silkiest prime in 1963, but she glides through Mica?la's Act III aria ("Je dis que rien ne m'¨¦pouvante") like a songbird. (It should be noted that the diction of the four stars is poor, particularly Corelli and Freni; the two of them coupled in Alain Lombard's 1968 recording of Gounod's Rom¨¦o et Juliette with similar overall success, hampered only by their abysmal pronunciation.)
  
  The high water mark of this recording is the final track, featuring the opera's cataclysmic finale ("O¨´ vas-tu?"..."Laisse-moi!"). Corelli is so venomously fanatical ("Ainsi, le salut de mon ame"), Price is so inanely noxious and cruel ("Eh bien! Frappe-moi donc, ou laisse-moi passer!"), and the Wiener Philharmoniker is in such tempestuous voice, the following three lines deserve special recognition:
  
  - Don Jos¨¦: "Pour la derni¨¨re fois, d¨¦mon, veux-tu me suivre?"
  
  - Carmen: "Non! Non! Cette bague, autrefois, tu me l'avais donn¨¦e. Tiens!"
  
  - Don Jos¨¦: "Eh bien! damn¨¦e!"
  
  The above excerpt is literally worth the entire recording; Corelli and Price are unmatched in bravado....more info
• Price is great
  This is the best Carmen I have Heard. For the money, you can't do any better. A must for Price fans....more info
• Pinch me...
  This has got to be Bizet's most popular, most loved opera. And why not? It has so much to entrance and enrapture the listener: entertainment from beginning to end, good plot, and excellent songs that keep you humming long after they're done. However, Carmen was certainly not popular back when it debuted one night in 1875 at the Th¨¦atre de la Op¨¦ra-Comique in Paris. Bizet was most worried about this opera premiering there, as well he should have been since the Parisiennes were used to light comedy with a touch of irony. Carmen was certainly not "light" at all and was accused of being immoral and obscene. Many changes were performed, including putting the recitative to music and having it sung instead of spoken. Finally though (after years actually) they warmed up to it, and "verismo" opera was widely accepted and celebrated. Ever since, Carmen has been a mainstay at opera houses due to its great popularity. I've seen it twice myself, and also have this recording with Leontyne Price in the title role.

  I absolutely love this recording. And it's not just the voices that I love. This version (I don't have the other recorded versions to compare it with by the way and so I cannot comment on this one as compared to the others) contains many sound effects that make it just that much more real. The bell chime to call the ladies back to work, the swords being drawn, the crowd noises and shrieks, everything. As for the singing, it's first rate in my mind.

  Leontyne Price as Carmen is a very fresh sound to hear. Normally we hear mezzos with dark voices singing the part. And although they do it well, I find their voices sometimes muffled and diction becomes poor and almost unbearable. Ms. Price has done a fantastic job with this role, with an acceptable French accent, good diction, and good coloration of both tone and phrasing. She knows just when a darker voice is needed to convey the mood and when not. I also like her interpretations of some of the arias and duets, very refreshing but also intelligent and true to style. I must also rave about her acting here; it's not just some dry interpretation of the music and singing all the time. She does a wonderful job of conveying her emotions especially at the end of Act 4 in her confrontation with Don Jos¨¦ (Corelli). You can hear the brazen truth when she says "je n'aime plus" to respond to his question if she loves him. Disgust and complete frustration are heard when she utters "laisse-moi pass¨¦e! (let me by!)" It is hard to ignore her talent... Shortly after completing this role, she was Leonora in Il Trovatore and received a standing ovation for 42 minutes, breaking the record for that house (which one, I can't remember). She is definitely an excellent soprano and interpreter of music, especially with the role of Carmen.

  Franco Corelli's Don Jos¨¦ is a very good one. I was surprised to hear a good French accent at times, although it fizzled near the end (perhaps he was concentrating on the acting... I don't know). I was happy though to hear his voice in this role since it's more masculine than some and conveys the character well. He does a fine job all around.

  All other parts sung were just great. Freni's Micha?la is very good. There might be better though when it comes to her aria in the third act (However, I'm comparing her to those I've seen live... It's just my opinion. Some of the reviewers before me have stated that she did a wonderful job). Every other supporting role is just fantastic. The duets and choruses are marvelously done. The Vienna Boy's Choir is a real treat. Their enunciation is as clear as a bell, and the voices were able to be heard over the large orchestra.

  Herbert von Karajan does a splendid job of conducting the Vienna Philharmonic and choristers. Some people may not like his skills, but I thought that everything flowed perfectly and sounded just great, which is all that should be expected from a conductor I believe. He allowed a great sound for the singers to perform with and the opera thus flourishes.

  Overall, I really love this recording and I probably won't get another one. When listening to it, I can picture everything as if I'm actually there in the opera house. The sound and acting is great as far as I'm concerned. It's a top-notch cast and a top-notch recording, and I'm proud to own it.

  In response to the comments made by another reviewer, the accents are just fine. And yes, Corelli's French has never been very good, but it was better here than I've heard in some of his other recordings, except towards the end as I noted earlier. The others' accents are fine, comparing them to most performances done these days and in the past. There are rarely versions of this opera done with fantastic French accents, unless one chooses singers with a French background.

  Well... there's my opinion. Take it for what it's worth. I hope I was helpful and perhaps enlightening....more info

• Leontyne and Karajan!
  This is a great recording, thanks to Karajan and Leontyne Price! Herbert von Karajan surely displayed his discriminating musical aptitude in spotting the possibilities in Leontyne Price early on; HE is the maestro responsible for assembling from her gifts a great Mozart soprano, among other things. Their musical relationship was long and fruitful, and this Carmen bears out the lasting brilliance of that unique artistic fusion. Price is stupendous in this mezzo role: believable, fired up, and tonally, a singer 'just come into her own' - a perfect combination! Listening to her Butterfly and her Carmen, I can't help feeling that early Price is the very best Price we have. Karajan's opera sensibilities are in full sway- what majesty in his approach to the score's insistent fire! As to the other principals, Franco Corelli as Don Jose and Mirella Freni as Michaela - perhaps the less said the better. Corelli overstates the case as usual, though the singing is robust and technically accomplished, if not beautiful. For elegance in this tenor role, I've heard none finer (or more undervalued!) than Neil Shicoff, Jessye Norman's partner in her recorded-only version. In my view, Freni is just the most methodical singer, always has been; reliable but generic. She seems to manage barely a glance at her one important aria, and it's a shame since it's such a fine piece of writing. Under Karajan the Vienna Philharmonic partners both opera and singers magnificently; only Bernstein has managed to coax from this superb orchestra the magic that Karajan does, and that magic is generously arrayed here. If you love Bizet's opera, don't hesitate to get this version. You can't beat it!...more info
• A Must-Have Carmen
  This is a must have carmen by all means! I'll start with the best reason to run and buy it - there's no Michaela like Freni's (who by the way named her daughter Michaela...) She's the perfect Michaela with sweet soaring notes. I've heard many Michaelas, none gets anywherwe near. Freni simply makes you want to listen to Michaela's parts over and over again, and her duet with Don Jose "Parle moi de ma mere" - is a real treat to the ear and soul. Michaela's aria - shear pleasure.

  Price, though not a Mezzo-soprano, gives a sexy seductive Carmen who sends shivers down one's spine, with a voice that's thick, dark, rich and a little hoarse, in a way most becoming the role.

  Corelli is an electrifying Don Jose, and in the last scene every note of his goes down to your heart. Merill - an exallent Escamilio.

  The orchestration is simply so right and every note is briliant and clean. The secondary roles are sung wonderfully as well.

  For all Carmen lovers or ones getting to know it - this is a must have.

  For those who want to get to know opera, this is the ideal opera to start....more info

• Maybe I'm a little partial...
  I first heard this version of Carmen many years ago, and for two main reasons, I can not give up listening to it. Reason #1: Leontyne Price's voice is so rich and spot-on, and reason #2: the Vienna Boys Choir add the necessary youthful element to the opera. I feel that this is a good, solid recording, well worth five stars, and far, far better than the versions of Carmen that make me cringe (and which shall remain nameless). The voices were cast well, and as usual, Herbert von Karajan conducts superbly. ...more info