Bizet: Carmen – Herbert von Karajan

   in Opera Now (Mar, 2019)
Now on to two fictional women: Carmen and Norma. Bizet’s legendary creation arrives in the form of Herbert von Karajan’s infamous production of Carmen created for Salzburg in 1966 and recorded here at its revival the following year; he both directed the staging and conducted, receiving little critical acclaim at the time. Has time been kind? Not hugely, I fear. There is a lot of stage noise, effortful dialogue, and sometimes singers sound a long way away; one of the more successful moments is the Act II Quintet, where presumably the singers were grouped. Karajan’s conducting is detailed and the playing has glamour and sheen, but there is the annoying interpolation …