Rating: 
Summary: Good Carmen
Review: I love to see people obviously relishing what they do, so it was a delight to watch Levine conducting and Baltsa singing this wonderful music. This supreme opera, however, also brings regret that Bizet's life was so brief and his marvelous works were so few. Bizet perhaps envisioned a 20-something Carmen, but I bet that Baltsa, 45-ish at the time of this performance, would have seduced him just as she did me and Carreras's hapless Don Jose'. Of course, Baltsa and Levine have the best parts, but that also means they carry major responsibility. A video production needs more than just their great singing and musicianship, and those extras are not lacking. The costumes do a lot for Baltsa, and Baltsa does a lot for the costumes. It's not just the provocative display of cleavage, either (and Baltsa knows how to use every jiggle to get her way), but the sheer force of a powerful female personality that integrates with voice and sex to dominate the stage, as Carmen must. Carreras is a little TOO overwhelmed, and I would have preferred one of the other two tenors, probably Domingo (Luciano, you're just too fat for this role!). However, Carreras does pretty well, given that he plays a man powerless to escape the femaelstrom that is Carmen. Mitchell and especially Ramey are excellent, given that all roles revolve around Carmen. At least Ramey gets to sing about being a toreador, and he takes every advantage of the opportunity to shine. All the while, Levine and his fine orchestra make me rejoice that I plugged the DVD player's audio cables into my stereo. It costs NOTHING to do this, folks, and it isn't difficult, either -- why pop for $400 for a "home theatre" kit? No stereo? Forty bucks or so will get you a subwoofer and two good speakers to plug into your TV's (or laptop's!) earphone jack. I disagree with reviewers who liked the video quality. In many parts of this production, the dark picture areas have lots of light-colored noise about every dozen frames or so, with less pronounced noisy frames in between, producing a flicker about two or three times every second. I find this annoying and distracting. Something similar happens when I am not careful how I scan a dark 35mm slide with my film scanner, but I know how to deal with it. The Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft certainly also knows how to deal with it, so why didn't they? Sehr schlampig, meine Herrn! It's also not all that hard to write a program to help eliminate pixels that misbehave (see, DG, some opera freaks are computer freaks, too). The extras, as on all DG oper(ett)a DVD's are pretty limited. The choices for menu languages are limited to English and . . . (are you ready for this?) . . . (Are you sure?) . . . CHINESE! Wer zum Teufel hat sich denn DAS ausgedacht?! The artistic aspects, happily, still make this a great DVD. I have not seen the Domingo / Migenes production, and it may be even better, but you'll probably like this one quite a bit.
Rating:
Summary: Baltsa & Levine shine, DVD transfer flickers
Review: I love to see people obviously relishing what they do, so it was a delight to watch Levine conducting and Baltsa singing this wonderful music. This supreme opera, however, also brings regret that Bizet's life was so brief and his marvelous works were so few. Bizet perhaps envisioned a 20-something Carmen, but I bet that Baltsa, 45-ish at the time of this performance, would have seduced him just as she did me and Carreras's hapless Don Jose'. Of course, Baltsa and Levine have the best parts, but that also means they carry major responsibility. A video production needs more than just their great singing and musicianship, and those extras are not lacking. The costumes do a lot for Baltsa, and Baltsa does a lot for the costumes. It's not just the provocative display of cleavage, either (and Baltsa knows how to use every jiggle to get her way), but the sheer force of a powerful female personality that integrates with voice and sex to dominate the stage, as Carmen must. Carreras is a little TOO overwhelmed, and I would have preferred one of the other two tenors, probably Domingo (Luciano, you're just too fat for this role!). However, Carreras does pretty well, given that he plays a man powerless to escape the femaelstrom that is Carmen. Mitchell and especially Ramey are excellent, given that all roles revolve around Carmen. At least Ramey gets to sing about being a toreador, and he takes every advantage of the opportunity to shine. All the while, Levine and his fine orchestra make me rejoice that I plugged the DVD player's audio cables into my stereo. It costs NOTHING to do this, folks, and it isn't difficult, either -- why pop for $400 for a "home theatre" kit? No stereo? Forty bucks or so will get you a subwoofer and two good speakers to plug into your TV's (or laptop's!) earphone jack. I disagree with reviewers who liked the video quality. In many parts of this production, the dark picture areas have lots of light-colored noise about every dozen frames or so, with less pronounced noisy frames in between, producing a flicker about two or three times every second. I find this annoying and distracting. Something similar happens when I am not careful how I scan a dark 35mm slide with my film scanner, but I know how to deal with it. The Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft certainly also knows how to deal with it, so why didn't they? Sehr schlampig, meine Herrn! It's also not all that hard to write a program to help eliminate pixels that misbehave (see, DG, some opera freaks are computer freaks, too). The extras, as on all DG oper(ett)a DVD's are pretty limited. The choices for menu languages are limited to English and . . . (are you ready for this?) . . . (Are you sure?) . . . CHINESE! Wer zum Teufel hat sich denn DAS ausgedacht?! The artistic aspects, happily, still make this a great DVD. I have not seen the Domingo / Migenes production, and it may be even better, but you'll probably like this one quite a bit.
Rating: 
Summary: There are better versions
Review: I ordered this DVD and I am so disappointed in it that I have not been inclined to watch any of my collection of about 15 operas on DVD. I was attracted to this because Carreras was the tenor, and I have so many operas featuring Placido Domingo. The version, with Carreras, is very amateurish. I can't believe this was presented at the Metropolitan, which I think is the information given. I am now in the process of ordering the Domingo version, and hope it will be more to my satisfacition. It took me a long time to add Carmen to my collection. Because of its popularity,I have seen it so many times. Now, I am once more interested in watching it again - a version I can appreciate.
Rating: 
Summary: Audio and Video quality Superb!!
Review: This Carmen is with Agnes Baltsa, Jose Carreras, Leona Mitchell, Samuel Mitchell, conducted by James Levine, recorded at the Met in 1989 under the Deutsche Grammophon label. Jose Carreras puts in an impassioned performance and the audio quality makes it a joy to listen to with or without watching the performance. Personally for Carmen I prefer the acting performance of Julia Johnson in the movie version however, to listen to the audio quality is so much better on this recording that I can't be without either copy. If you love opera on DVD you'll be thrilled with the quality.
Rating:
Summary: A great performance of a great opera
Review: This is an extraordinary video. Jose Carreras IS Don Jose; To watch him go from the naive young soldier in act one to the desperate lover in act 4 is gut wrenching. Agnes Baltsa is very earthy and plays the part of Carmen much closer to the way the character was written than is usual...the scenes between Baltsa and Carreras are rivetting in their intensity. Along with great sets and outstanding conducting by James Levine, this is THE Carmen to own.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic
Review: This is one of the most riviting performances of this opera that I have ever seen, topping even Domingo at Covet Garden in 1986. A MUST see for those interested in this timeless meshing of music and foolish passion.
Rating:
Summary: Good Carmen
Review: This live Carmen from the Met really impresses me - hey, Levine never fails, but the others were surprisingly good. I agree with other reviewers - Mitchell and Ramey deserve the real ovation here. Mitchell's Micaela is touching and well-projected, and Ramey blasts even Raimondi out of the way as Escamillo (Merrill is the only other that comes close for me). Next, Carreras lacks the passion of Domingo or (by far) the power of Corelli, but it's an impressive Jose he brings. Baltsa sings incredibly and acts pretty well, though her Act 2 dance is truly boring. Sets outstanding, costumes so-so.
Rating:
Summary: Opera at its best
Review: This outstanding work is given no better a performance than here from the principles and the fine Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus. The role of Carmen is sung with a fiery passion by the very powerful mezzo of Agnes Baltsa. Her interaction with Carreras is emotionally powerful as well as musically satisfying. Special mention must be given to the wonderful interpretation of the role of Don Jose by Carreras- the best interpretation available in audio today( note the brilliant recording with Karajan). He is vocally poweful in the finale of Act three as well as exquisite in the Flower Song with a soaring B-flat sung pianissimo. He totally identifies with the character( as in all his roles really). James Levine and the Orchestra provide impressive accompaniment, providing a pillow for the principles(Levine's interpretation is less rigid than Maazel but not as creative as Karajan). Regardless of this , the performance is indicative of what a night at the opera should be.
Rating:
Summary: Credible Carmen from The Met.
Review: This video is second to the movie with Placido and Julia as far as enjoying the opera goes. Sam Ramey and Leona Mitchell do outshine the two principals of Baltsa and Carreras who are credible performers but certainly not thrilling. Jose was having difficulty, as usual, trying make his instrument heard in that big house, shaking like a wet puppy from the effort. Trying hard but always straining, making it a video best for his fans. I've never really cared for Agnes much and she didn't change my mind here either. Have this on LD and feel it is worth having in my collection as I liked the production which is gone now. The other videos of Ewing, Covent Garden and Bumbry's version are also OK but the movie is still my favorite.
Rating:
Summary: Credible Carmen from The Met.
Review: This video is second to the movie with Placido and Julia as far as enjoying the opera goes. Sam Ramey and Leona Mitchell do outshine the two principals of Baltsa and Carreras who are credible performers but certainly not thrilling. Jose was having difficulty, as usual, trying make his instrument heard in that big house, shaking like a wet puppy from the effort. Trying hard but always straining, making it a video best for his fans. I've never really cared for Agnes much and she didn't change my mind here either. Have this on LD and feel it is worth having in my collection as I liked the production which is gone now. The other videos of Ewing, Covent Garden and Bumbry's version are also OK but the movie is still my favorite.
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