Bizet : Carmen. Kozena, Kaufmann, Kühmeier, Smoriginas, Rattle.

   in Opera Now (Sep, 2012)
This studio recording follows stage and concert performances of Carmen by the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Simon Rattle (in Salzburg and Berlin respectively). Using the Oeser edition, Rattle states his aim as being a return to the opéra comique roots of the work rather than the overblown piece we often encounter. In this he largely succeeds, as the performance is certainly fleet – it is a buoyant and often elegant reading of Carmen, and yet Rattle doesn’t shy away from the large-scale ensembles or indeed the more languorous moments of the score, to which he brings an almost Massenet-like sensuality.

His cast is uneven; they are all excellent performers, but …