Herbert von Karajan - Bizet: Carmen (1963) [2017] Hi-Res

The reception history of Georges Bizet's final dramatic work, Carmen, is rife
with ironies. Although almost unanimously condemned by Parisian critics after
its first performances in 1875 for its overt sexuality and graphic final scene,
Carmen intrigued a number of sophisticated minds and ultimately reached the
public in a way that perhaps no other opera has. Bizet's aim in composing
Carmen had been to transform the flaccid, moralistic bourgeois genre of opéra
comique into a more sophisticated type of staged work. With a libretto by
Ludovic Halévy and Henri Meilhac, Carmen survives in no single authoritative
version despite its enormous popularity and influence. Guiraud converted the
original sections of spoken dialogue into recitative for the 1875 Vienna performances. In recent years the original version has made a striking comeback, and
one can argue that it is far more telling dramatically than the traditional version
with the recitatives. There is also a popular orchestral suite drawn from the
opera, and several violin and piano fantasies on its themes also exist. Carmen
is cornerstone item in any opera collection. It is ironic that Bizet composed one
of music's most evocative landscapes of Spain without ever having been there.
Bizet based his opéra comique on Prosper Mérimée's story, Carmen, which had
appeared in October 1845. Librettists Halévy and Meilhac emphasized the exotic
characters of Mérimée's story and retained the themes of social class distinctions, overt sexuality, and misogyny that emerge so forcefully in Mérimée's
model. Bizet gave musical expression to the libretto using recurring motives, a
distinctive melodic style, and manipulations of genre conventions to give each
character a musical significance and a unique expressive idiom. The opera's
prelude introduces some of the most important themes, including Escamillo's
toreador music and an exotic and sinewy chromatic motive that permeates the
opera as a musical symbol for both Carmen's character and the insurmountable power of fate. The gypsy fortune-teller Carmen sings in dance numbers,
such as the habanera ("L'amour est un oiseau rebelle") and the seguidilla
("Près des ramparts de Seville") of Act One, and the Gypsy song ("Les
tringles des sisters tintaient") of Act Two. Traversing boundaries of diatonic
harmony, the sultry chromaticism of Carmen's habanera theme underscores
her status as both ethnic outsider and sexually adventuresome female. In this
she stands in sharp contrast to Micaëla, whose Act Three aria ("Je sais que
rien ne m'épouvante") is set in the ternary form of the elevated bel canto
French grand opera aria. The bullfighter Escamillo announces his trade and
masculine prowess in the rollicking Act Two toreador song ("Toréador, en
garde!"), which carries the musical suggestion of battle in its fanfare opening
and insistent march rhythm. Don José's musical styles reflect different levels in
his descent from dutiful soldier to the underworld of obsession. In Act One,
Don José sings in a duet with Micaëla ("Ma mère, je la vois"), adopting her
elevated lyrical vocal style. In Act Two, after his imprisonment, Don José sings
a more popular march-like tune ("Halte-là! Qui va là? Dragon d'Alcala"),
reflecting his lower social status. His angst-ridden wailings in the opera's final
scene defy clear formal arrangement and convey the psychological turmoil of
an obsessed and defeated individual. Thus did Bizet forge a work that both
summed up the musical resources available to him and had enough color and
sheer melodic attractiveness to insinuate itself permanently into the public
mind. Carmen, indeed, has been the subject of several popular-music
adaptations over the years.


Tracks:

1 Habanera 5:51
2 Seguidilla And Duet 4:55
3 Gypsy Song 4:38
4 Toreador Song 5:38
5 Quintet 4:58
6 Flower Song 3:58
7 Card Scene 7:57
8 Micaela's Aria 5:40
9 Les voicil Les voicil 5:41
10 C'est Toi! C'est Moi! (Duet) 11:15

Personnel:

Herbert von Karajan / Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Vienna State Opera Chorus
Vienna Boys Choir
Baritone Vocals – Bernard Demigny, Jean-Christophe Benoit, Robert Merrill
Bass Vocals – Frank Schooten
Soprano Vocals – Leontyne Price, Mirella Freni, Monique Linval
Tenor Vocals – Franco Corelli, Maurice Besançon
Mezzo-soprano Vocals – Geneviève Macaux