Bizet: Carmen - Resnik, Domingo, Vinay; Guadagno. Santiago, 1967
$8.95
Listen to a Sample:
On paper, Regina Resnik and Plácido Domingo seem an unlikely pair, but they prove intriguingly well-matched in this 1967 Carmen. Resnik sings the role as if the opera were by Verdi, letting loose wild, mocking laughter at the slightest opportunity and, belying much of her aristocratic persona, creating a highly seductive aura. She spends much of the opera walking all over José, just as she should. This is early Domingo, long before he was one of the world’s leading exponents of this role, and his (relative) inexperience works in his favor: he sounds dangerously close to out of control for much of the performance, and it is not until his relationship with Carmen sours that he is credible as a threat. Ramón Vinay, singing baritone repertoire at the end of a long and storied career, sounds a much likelier match to Resnik, singing ”Votre Toast” with more freedom and bonhomie than most baritones ever do. Nancy Stokes is a sweet-toned Micaëla. The sound is solid without being exceptional, which also goes for much of the supporting cast, but Anton Guadagno creates an authentically Sevillian ambience.
OD 11348-2
