Carmen [Box set]

This is one of the best Carmen sets on the market. Mignes is all that anyone could wish for in a Carmen. feminine, seductive and fiery. All those qualities are conveyed in the singing giving a full and rounded portrait in one of the most recorded operas. Domingo is on top form and sings with a ringing heroic tone, surely one of the finest Don Jose's there has been. The conducting is keenly paced and the sound quality is stunning. This recording formed the soundtrack of the 1981 film and the real sense of drama is conveyed at all times. This really is opera at its best. The set is priced on the high side, but if you own this set, you are unlikely to want to buy another version.

I sympathise with those who want their Carmen quintessentially French, more in the Opera Comique tradition, with lighter voices, perfect accents and generally more Parisian than Viennese, but this film version and recording provides such a complete dramatic experience that for me, it leaves all the others - and there are an awful lot of them! - in the dust. The only other recording I enjoy as much is even more unauthentic: the beautifully sung, hugely dramatic Karajan reading with Corelli (French worse than Domingo's and without the excuse of at least sounding a bit Spanish), Price (smokey, alluring but very grand) and Merrill (vocalising marvellously without bothering much about characterisation details). You don't have to have seen the film to appreciate this Maazel account but it happens to be one of the very best visual realisations of any opera. Migenes Johnson re-trained her voice to acquire plenty of gutsy chest register without losing the delicacy of her top and she delivers that famous music with some lovely portamenti - not at all vulgar, in my opinion, just properly in character. When all is said and done, Carmen IS a bit of a slut - but a brave and likeable one! I get fed up with already outdated interpretative wisdom that she is, underneath it all something of a lady and should be sung with Gallic understatement; for me, Berganza simply underplays the role while Migenes Johnson gets it right. Domingo sings his best Jose on record; powerful, with a rapid vibrato and some easy, plangent top notes. The surprise for me was Raimondi's Escamillo; I agree with another reviewer that it is the best on disc and the voice sounds truly baritonal - which perhaps explains why I have sometimes found his timbre too light for some of the true bass roles he has undertaken. Maazel's direction is masterly; all the tempi are beautifully judged and the authentic French orchestra, chorus and secondary roles are a delight to the ears. My only slight disappointment is encountered in Esham's Micaela; she sings neatly and expressively but the fundamental tone is thin; I miss the beauty of Te Kanawa's sound in this role. Still, that doesn't really spoil the set; you won't find a better.

Visually, the film is a delight: gritty performances by principals who really look the part; beautiful locations and sets with lots of soft umbers and ochres and flashes of red.

With Placido Doningo, Julia Mignes Johnson & Ruggero Raimondi how can you go wrong.All three artists were at the peak in this recording and it shows. The rich sounds of Orchestre National De France greatly enhance this recording. I recently purchased the new DVD release of this opera so the CD's are a welcome addition to my collection. If you like Bizet's Carmen, you'll love this recording.