Rating: 
Summary: Crisp video, fine staging, excellent performance
Review: Agnes Baltsa really steals the show with a seductive, passionate Carmen, and Ramey is phenomenal as Escamillo as well. Carreras is appropriately tortured as Don Jose with an excellent performance. The video quality of _Carmen_ is slightly better than the other (excellent) DG DVD releases. Of course, the uncompressed audio is superb as well, and James Levine can do little wrong with the NYP.This is a wonderful disc!
Rating:
Summary: Crisp video, fine staging, excellent performance
Review: Agnes Baltsa really steals the show with a seductive, passionate Carmen, and Ramey is phenomenal as Escamillo as well. Carreras is appropriately tortured as Don Jose with an excellent performance. The video quality of _Carmen_ is slightly better than the other (excellent) DG DVD releases. Of course, the uncompressed audio is superb as well, and James Levine can do little wrong with the NYP. This is a wonderful disc!
Rating:
Summary: I love Agnes Baltsa.
Review: Anticipating my participation in an upcoming production of this Bizet classic, I got the DVD of the Met's production of CARMEN. I'm very pleased to own it, and hope that those who read this review do purchase it. James Levine's conducting of this work is magnificent. You can just see the passion that he brings forth for this opera. He is paired with a very talented group of singers in the principal roles. Singing the mysterious Carmen is mezzo Agnes Baltsa. Now, at first glance, Baltsa's age really got to me. She looks considerably older than her part should be. However, there's something about her performance that just seduces. It's a combination of the nuances in her stage movement, as well as the versatile singing range she has to offer--especially in her 1st act Seguidilla. José Carerras (of "3 Tenors" fame) brings a certain gusto to his Don José, which works for the most part, but can get overdone in a few spots. Bass-Baritone Sam Ramey offers an appropriately pompous Torero in his singing of Escamillo. The biggest standout in this cast, however, is in soprano Leona Mitchell's portrayal of shy country girl Micaëla. Her 3rd act aria "Je dis que rien ne m'épouvante" is SOMETHING ELSE!! The supporting roles of Dancaïre and Remendado got an enjoyably slimy characterization, and Carmen's gypsy friends Frasquita and Mercédes are intriguing in the 3rd act "Card Trio." My first qualm with the DVD is the lack of extra features. Granted, this opera was filmed in 1988, but a documentary or even some production notes other than in the liner notes couldn't have hurt. My next qualm was with 2 distracting video qualities. First off, there are some times where some lighter pixels in dark areas were very evident and distracting. Also on some televisions, the video quality is automatically brightened whenever a subtitle appears... These are small things, and really aren't much of a bother when you consider the gem of the DVD: wonderful performances onstage and in the orchestra.
Rating: 
Summary: Levine and Baltsa offer a satisfying CARMEN
Review: Anticipating my participation in an upcoming production of this Bizet classic, I got the DVD of the Met's production of CARMEN. I'm very pleased to own it, and hope that those who read this review do purchase it. James Levine's conducting of this work is magnificent. You can just see the passion that he brings forth for this opera. He is paired with a very talented group of singers in the principal roles. Singing the mysterious Carmen is mezzo Agnes Baltsa. Now, at first glance, Baltsa's age really got to me. She looks considerably older than her part should be. However, there's something about her performance that just seduces. It's a combination of the nuances in her stage movement, as well as the versatile singing range she has to offer--especially in her 1st act Seguidilla. José Carerras (of "3 Tenors" fame) brings a certain gusto to his Don José, which works for the most part, but can get overdone in a few spots. Bass-Baritone Sam Ramey offers an appropriately pompous Torero in his singing of Escamillo. The biggest standout in this cast, however, is in soprano Leona Mitchell's portrayal of shy country girl Micaëla. Her 3rd act aria "Je dis que rien ne m'épouvante" is SOMETHING ELSE!! The supporting roles of Dancaïre and Remendado got an enjoyably slimy characterization, and Carmen's gypsy friends Frasquita and Mercédes are intriguing in the 3rd act "Card Trio." My first qualm with the DVD is the lack of extra features. Granted, this opera was filmed in 1988, but a documentary or even some production notes other than in the liner notes couldn't have hurt. My next qualm was with 2 distracting video qualities. First off, there are some times where some lighter pixels in dark areas were very evident and distracting. Also on some televisions, the video quality is automatically brightened whenever a subtitle appears... These are small things, and really aren't much of a bother when you consider the gem of the DVD: wonderful performances onstage and in the orchestra.
Rating:
Summary: Overall, its good.
Review: As the previous poster mentioned, this production was very close to the famous tenor's Leukemia treatment, which is unfortunate, because there are elements of absolute bliss created by carreras and other parts not so. When he really gets into the singing he is the emobiment of passion, emotion and drama, but he also seems rather stiff in parts, both in his movement and in acting(which is evident in the many spoken lines).
Agnes Balsta playing Carmen was great, a beautiful voice and probably the best actor on stage. Samuel Ramey sings Escamillo very well, but perhaps a little more emotion rather than merely singing is desired. Leona Mitchell was of course excellent, as was Levine and the Met orchestra.
This production stirs within a great respect for the opera profession, but there is an underlying hesitance perhaps the somewhat aged cast fail slightly to create the strong emotions of lust, jelousy and rage that are the centre of this opera. I have the fullest respect for carreras, and I'm sure that he has had better productions that this.
But overall it was great to listen to and watch this traditional styled Carmen.
Rating: 
Summary: don't waste your time...
Review: Because this CARMEN is trash. The sets are passable, if only in that economically wasteful way that only the Met can afford. While the Met orchestra sounds as gorgeous as ever, the onstage music-making is at a low point. Sam Ramey and Leona Mitchell rise above the two leading characters, who are shredded by the aggrandized howling of Jose Carreras and Agnes Baltsa. Carreras proves how much his talent was wasted in between his shining youth in the late '70s to his disastrous "prime" in the mid '80s, digging into his body for resonance that it can't afford. Baltsa does nothing more than bray and claw her way through Carmen, missing the point that if the character were no more than a vulgar slut (or harpy, as in this portrayal), why would anyone care about her? This performance uses dialogue - in general, performed with shoddy French accents. Nico Castel, the fabulously Parisian Guillot in the 1977 New York City Opera MANON (starring Beverly Sills), makes a tremendous character error by speaking Lillas Pastia's lines in a Spanish accent - which would only make sense if Pastia were the only Latin character in the cast (as the Brazilian is in Offenbach's LA VIE PARISIENNE). The best diction is that of Charles Duval as Micaela's mountain guide (thank God he gets to speak all his lines!). Stay away. If you're expecting something even approaching the ultra-sleek, overrated 1983 Karajan recording (also with Baltsa and Carreras), this will explode in your face.
Rating:
Summary: A few things
Review: First of all, in a age when carmens time period is being shifted around, and all sorts of "new" interpretations are poaring forth, its nice to see an old style Carmen.
As to the Performance, Samuel Ramey is the ideal Escamillio. His dashing looks and generous Bass Baritone, mean real thrills. He does not have a single moment of strain, and turns in the ideal Escamillio.
Leona Mitchell is a superb Micaela. She look beautiful in her blue dress, and sings with her usual present tone, and glorious top notes.
There are serious reservations about Carreras's Don Jose. Von Karajan, who conducted Carmen from more than 60 years, Called the Jose of Jose Carreras, the best. Carreras picked up the role in1982, and found it the perfect vehicle for his declining voice. He could call forth his famous emotional intensity, and cover up his vocal problems with his vocal energy. The role of Jose requires pathos, but not too much legato or vocal nuance. I have the honor of having seen the Jose of Carreras at the Orange festival, on video, in 1984. Then, His Jose was a force of nature. Unfortunatly this Met production captures Jose only 2 months prior to his entrance of a leukemia ward. Jose is strained vocally, there can be no doubt, and this strain occasionally marrs his commitment to the drama. He is at the end of his rope vocally and in shows.
Agnes Baltsa is a wonderful Mezzo for the role of Carmen. Rather than caniving and two faced, he Carmen is as genuinly credulous and fickle as her actions suggest. Rather than being manipulative, she is actually deeply in love with Jose. Her voice is wonderful, with one drawback. She has a clear register change, between Chesty contralto, and heady soprano, both voices are wonderful, but the switch can be clunky at times,
Enjoy this carmen!! Its well worth it!
Rating:
Summary: A Credible Carmen
Review: I am prompted to write this review to correct what I perceive as a misleading previous review. This is a sumptuous production from the Met. The special strong points of the production, as I see it are the usual excellent Met orchestra, sets and acting, the excellent childrens' chorus, the quality of the secondary characters Micaela (Leona Mitchell) and Escamillo (Samuel Ramey), AND the quality of the singers Carmen (Agnes Baltsa) and Don Jose (Jose Carreras). I found the singing of Don Jose relatively accurate but, more important, the style of singing and the acting seem almost perfect. Carmen is also extremely well played. The singing is quite accurate and the amount of energy and management of the mix of low and upper registers is quite impressive. I have almost no reservations about this excellent production.
Rating:
Summary: A Credible Carmen
Review: I am prompted to write this review to correct what I perceive as a misleading previous review. This is a sumptuous production from the Met. The special strong points of the production, as I see it are the usual excellent Met orchestra, sets and acting, the excellent childrens' chorus, the quality of the secondary characters Micaela (Leona Mitchell) and Escamillo (Samuel Ramey), AND the quality of the singers Carmen (Agnes Baltsa) and Don Jose (Jose Carreras). I found the singing of Don Jose relatively accurate but, more important, the style of singing and the acting seem almost perfect. Carmen is also extremely well played. The singing is quite accurate and the amount of energy and management of the mix of low and upper registers is quite impressive. I have almost no reservations about this excellent production.
Rating:
Summary: I love Agnes Baltsa.
Review: I love this opera. I watch it about twice a year. Whatever Baltsa's technical imperfections (she doesn't have that divine, superlative clarity of Callas), she has an earthy, almost motherly tone I could listen to all day. Mitchell and Ramey both had their intense emotional range as usual and the charisma of these two singers is nearly palpable. I only wish they had been able to get on-stage with one another. Carreras' consciousness of his star power seemed to pop up inopportunely, usually at some moment of character-driven agonizing. He aquitted himself very well however, considering the fact that the part of Don Jose is, in terms of interpretation, sometimes much harder to do than Carmen. Everybody's got their own idea of which opera singer's performance takes her part to the point where she becomes Carmen. For me, this performance is the one. About two minutes into her first appearance, I didn't care that Baltsa was physically plain -- she was the most beautiful woman in the world. The fact that she was beautiful, not pretty, added strongly to the poignant flavor of the story. I loved her, but that's just a personal preference. You may hate her as some other reviewers did. But whichever way it goes, you will have a strong impression. Levine, with his half-open mouth, wild, unselfconscious gesticulating (okay, it's called conducting and I've done it a little, myself), and gleeful fascination with his work is sometimes more interesting to watch than the opera itself.
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