Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I debated long and hard which Carmen to get: this live version from the Royal Opera House or or filmed version with Placido Domingo. Here is the Great news and the Good news. In short, this is a wonderful (hence great) production marred by a few technical flaws which limit it's brilliance (hence good).
The great is firstly Luis Lima's wonderful, charasmatic performance as Don Jose. Imminently believable, sad, boyish and gullible--his voice is stronger than I've seen him in comparable roles (e.g. La Boheme). Maria Ewing's performance is less credible, not passionate or seductive enough--seems somewhat more self-serving and machiavellian (which is the way the liner notes suggests--"Carmen thinks like a man.") Nonetheless, Ewings vocal performance is outstanding. Also great is the the lavish Royal Opera House production and Zubin Mehta's orchestral flair.
The limits of this video, is the technical editing and audio production. Some of the scene editing appears sloppy, with angle cuts too sophisticated to be effective (e.g. cutting faster during faster paced arias.) Or cutting to slightly blurred scenes. And the audio quality, while uncompressed and in stereo, is not dolby surround...hence slightly hollowed.
But, in it's whole, while not perfect (although Lima is close), this is a good, if not long (over 2.5 hrs) production that shows beautiful Carmen in all its glory. A nice addition to any library.
If Zefferelli had been involved with this produciton, this would have been an unbeatible staging.
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