Bizet: Carmen - Verrett, Domingo, Te Kanawa, Van Dam, Cahill, Van Allen; Solti. London, 1973

$14.95



Description:

Georg Solti reunites the cast from his iconic Decca recording of Carmen with one electrifying change—Shirley Verrett in the title role. Verrett’s understated Carmen simmers with aloof magnetism throughout the opera, only to erupt in fierce defiance in Act IV, a moment that feels all the more powerful for the restraint that preceded it. Plácido Domingo offers a nuanced Don José, vividly portraying a man slowly unraveling under the weight of obsession. Kiri Te Kanawa, just 30 years old at the time, nearly steals the show with her radiant Micaëla, and José Van Dam brings refined swagger to Escamillo. Solti uses the uncut Oeser edition of the score, giving the performance a broader dramatic arc and justifying its three-disc presentation.

In Stereo

OD 11917-3

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