Search - Georges Bizet, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Tatiana Troyanos :: Bizet: Carmen / Troyanos, Domingo, Te Kanawa; Sir Georg Solti [Highlights]

This collection of highlights may be OK for the Carmen beginner, but even its generous selection will leave listeners hungry. It has most of the "hits," that is, the recognizable numbers, and all of it is well sung, but not much else. José van Dam's "Toreador Song" is probably the set's highlight. The role of Escamillo, halfway between baritone and bass and making neither happy, is just right for van Dam's oddly placed voice, and his French is stunning. In 1975, Placido Domingo was at his best: ripe and rich and passionate. Kiri Te Kanawa's Micaela is beautiful in a Muzak sort of way. In the title role, Tatiana Troyanos sings with handsome, buzzing tone, but she seems too premeditated for Carmen. There's a spontaneity lacking that great, tricky Carmens have. Georg Solti is, as usual, fierce in his attacks and exactitude, but he seems to have taken the sex out of the opera. One can do better for a highlights CD with Lorin Maazel leading Domingo and Julia Migenes. --Robert Levine