Bizet, Georges / Carmen (The Complete Opera) / Bizet: Carmen (De Los Angeles, Gedda, Thomas Beecham)
| Album: | Bizet: Carmen (De Los Angeles, Gedda, Thomas Beecham) | Collection: | Classical | |
| Artist: | Bizet, Georges / Carmen (The Complete Opera) | Added: | Nov 2011 | |
| Label: | Emi Classics | |||
A-File Activity
| Add Date: | 2011-11-27 | Pull Date: | 2012-01-29 | Charts: | Classical/Experimental |
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Album Review
Larry
Reviewed 2011-11-25
Reviewed 2011-11-25
Bizet, Georges / Carmen (The Complete Opera)
Label: EMI Classics
Larry K.
Reviewed: 2011-11-25
BIZET, CARMEN (VICTORIA de los ANGELES, NICOLAI GEDDA, SIR THOMAS BEECHAM)
EMI 2011
Carmen was composed in 1874-5, premiering a few months before Bizet died of a heart attack at age 36, never to know how popular his opera was to become. The story is set in Seville, Spain, around 1820, and concerns Carmen, a beautiful gypsy with a fiery temper. Free with her love, she woos a young corporal of the Dragoons, Don José. Their relationship leads to his rejection of his former love, Micaëla, mutiny against his superior, Lieutenant Zuniga, and his joining a gang of smugglers. Don José’s jealousy when Carmen turns from him to the bullfighter, Escamillo, leads him to murder her. The plot details and musical structure of each act are well described in CD4 and in Wikepedia. Best-known and most popular pieces from the opera include the Habenera (CD1, track 6), the Toreador’s Song (CD2, track 5) and the Flower Song (CD2, track 12), The orchestral prelude and the entr’actes are popular as a suite. Play the prelude or any of the well-known songs to bring your audience to their feet. In fact, any track will greatly please. Victoria de los Angeles (Carmen) and Nicolai Gedda (Don José) were deservedly world-famous.
CD 1 (54:48). Prelude (3:36), Act 1 (51:12), Nos. 1-10. In a Seville square, solders loiter before a guardhouse across from a cigarette factory, from which girls exit, smoking on a break, followed by the gypsy, Carmen, who sings of love and flirts with Don José. He is visited by Micaëla, whom he promises to marry. Carmen is arrested for cutting a co-worker with a knife. She seduces Don José with a Castillian folksong and dance and escapes.
CD 2 (44:27). Entr’acte (1:59), Act 2 (42:28), Nos. 11-17. At a country Inn, Carmen and her friends sing and dance, she thinks of Don José, just released from jail after letting her escape, and hears the song of the passing toreador, Escamillo. Smugglers arrive, Carmen announces she is in love, Don José draws his sword on his superior officer, Don Zuniga, to protect Carmen and flees with Carmen to a gypsy smuggler life.
CD 3 (62:11) Entr’acte (2:31), Act 3 (38:00), Nos. 18-23. Carmen has tired of Don José, taunts him, and a fortune-teller foresees their deaths. Micaëla comes seeking Don José; Escamillo arrives; José challenges him to a knife fight out of jealousy, is saved by the smugglers. Escamillo invites all to his next bullfight. Micaëla convinces Don José to accompany her to see his dying mother. Carmen tries to go to Escamillo, but is barred by Don José.
Entr’acte (2:30), Act 4 (19:05), Nos. 24-26. In a square in front of the Seville arena, Carmen and Escamillo enter, she declares her love for him; he enters the arena. Don José appears, begs her to return, she refuses and throws back his ring. As the crowd cheers Escamillo, José stabs her and she dies to the strains of the Toreador song. The crowd leaves the arena to find Don José confessing his guilt over her dead body.
CD 4 Libretto & Synopsis
Label: EMI Classics
Larry K.
Reviewed: 2011-11-25
BIZET, CARMEN (VICTORIA de los ANGELES, NICOLAI GEDDA, SIR THOMAS BEECHAM)
EMI 2011
Carmen was composed in 1874-5, premiering a few months before Bizet died of a heart attack at age 36, never to know how popular his opera was to become. The story is set in Seville, Spain, around 1820, and concerns Carmen, a beautiful gypsy with a fiery temper. Free with her love, she woos a young corporal of the Dragoons, Don José. Their relationship leads to his rejection of his former love, Micaëla, mutiny against his superior, Lieutenant Zuniga, and his joining a gang of smugglers. Don José’s jealousy when Carmen turns from him to the bullfighter, Escamillo, leads him to murder her. The plot details and musical structure of each act are well described in CD4 and in Wikepedia. Best-known and most popular pieces from the opera include the Habenera (CD1, track 6), the Toreador’s Song (CD2, track 5) and the Flower Song (CD2, track 12), The orchestral prelude and the entr’actes are popular as a suite. Play the prelude or any of the well-known songs to bring your audience to their feet. In fact, any track will greatly please. Victoria de los Angeles (Carmen) and Nicolai Gedda (Don José) were deservedly world-famous.
CD 1 (54:48). Prelude (3:36), Act 1 (51:12), Nos. 1-10. In a Seville square, solders loiter before a guardhouse across from a cigarette factory, from which girls exit, smoking on a break, followed by the gypsy, Carmen, who sings of love and flirts with Don José. He is visited by Micaëla, whom he promises to marry. Carmen is arrested for cutting a co-worker with a knife. She seduces Don José with a Castillian folksong and dance and escapes.
CD 2 (44:27). Entr’acte (1:59), Act 2 (42:28), Nos. 11-17. At a country Inn, Carmen and her friends sing and dance, she thinks of Don José, just released from jail after letting her escape, and hears the song of the passing toreador, Escamillo. Smugglers arrive, Carmen announces she is in love, Don José draws his sword on his superior officer, Don Zuniga, to protect Carmen and flees with Carmen to a gypsy smuggler life.
CD 3 (62:11) Entr’acte (2:31), Act 3 (38:00), Nos. 18-23. Carmen has tired of Don José, taunts him, and a fortune-teller foresees their deaths. Micaëla comes seeking Don José; Escamillo arrives; José challenges him to a knife fight out of jealousy, is saved by the smugglers. Escamillo invites all to his next bullfight. Micaëla convinces Don José to accompany her to see his dying mother. Carmen tries to go to Escamillo, but is barred by Don José.
Entr’acte (2:30), Act 4 (19:05), Nos. 24-26. In a square in front of the Seville arena, Carmen and Escamillo enter, she declares her love for him; he enters the arena. Don José appears, begs her to return, she refuses and throws back his ring. As the crowd cheers Escamillo, José stabs her and she dies to the strains of the Toreador song. The crowd leaves the arena to find Don José confessing his guilt over her dead body.
CD 4 Libretto & Synopsis
Track Listing