Carmen

"This spectacular opera film was taped in 1967 and is based on the 1966 Salzburg Festival production directed by Herbert von Karajan himself, who also conducts the fabulous Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra."

Jan 17 1969 N/A 2h 44m
Drama, Music

This spectacular opera film was taped in 1967 and is based on the 1966 Salzburg Festival production directed by Herbert von Karajan himself, who also conducts the fabulous Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. The production features the three greatest exponents of their respective roles at the time: Grace Bumbry’s magnificently seductive-toned Carmen, Mirella Freni’s ineffably lovely, touching Micaëla and Jon Vickers’s thrillingly manic-depressive Don José. On its release the film was hailed by Die Presse, (Vienna) as a “unique artistic event”, while Le Monde felt that Karajan’s production brought “a whole new dimension” to the opera, “combined with a magisterial interpretation”. A classical and utterly dramatic approach to probably the world's most beloved opera – Karajan’s Carmen is as much a delicacy for opera fans as it is a perfect starter for newcomers.

Plot

Grace Bumbry is excellent as Carmen, Jon Vickers excellent as Don Jose, and Herbert von Karajan is of course a first rate conductor. Overall, the audio performance and recording are first rate. The directing, staging, costumes, set design, etc. are conservative in that they remain true to the original story and opera.The only problem with the DVD is that the audio and video were recorded separately in 1967: the audio in April in Munich, the video in June in Vienna. Why this was done I don't know, but the result is that the singers look like they are lip-synching, because, well, they are lip-synching to the earlier audio-only recording.The best opera recordings are of an actual performance, because this is what most of us want to see: if we can't be at the theater, then we want the next best thing. Unfortunately this Carmen is not at this level because the singers are not really singing on screen. If you are looking for a CD version of this opera, I recommend this one; for a DVD version, look elsewhere, or at least take a look at other performances in addition to this one.

Written by

Henri Meilhac, Ludovic Halévy, Prosper Mérimée

Directed by

Herbert von Karajan

Cast

Grace Bumbry, Jon Vickers, Mirella Freni

Crew

View crew

Production Countries

Austria, Switzerland

Production Companies

Cosmotel

Languages

Français

Awards

N/A

Scores
# of Votes
83
Average Rating
8 out of 10
Metascore
NA
Popularity
NA