You might call this a revisionist Carmen, but even if that sounds like the last thing you want to hear, don't go running for the hills just yet. The husband-and-wife team of
Simon Rattle and Czech mezzo soprano
Magdalena Kozená have forged an internally consistent release that's at the very least worth hearing. In a nutshell, this paragon of erotic opera has had its erotic elements mostly stripped away:
Kozená's Carmen is restrained, even a bit melancholy, and generally not the least bit sultry or obstreperous. That sounds odd, but it may be what
Rattle had in mind: the net effect is to shift a portion of the listener's attention to
Jonas Kaufmann's Don José, and his brooding, volcanic performance nearly carries the whole opera on its own.
Rattle, too, is unexpectedly strong. Opera is not his forte, and still less so is French opera the forte of the
Berlin Philharmonic, but he makes the band sound for all the world like a French opera orchestra, and the performances, nicely recorded at the Philharmonie in Berlin, are elegant and crisp; the big tunes that define the opera for plenty of listeners come off just fine here. Many of the smaller roles are also very well done. The luxurious hardbound booklet of the CD version does not include a libretto, and for the reasons outlined above as well this may not be a good choice for a listener coming to Carmen for the first time. For those who've heard it a lot already, however, it will bring fresh sounds.