Jeux d'Enfants, Ma M較e l'Oye,

In Bizet’s opera Les pecheurs de perles (The Pearl Fishers) the composer shows us that he is much more than Carmen. His melodies are beautiful, his harmonies are lush, and the ballet pieces are sophisticated. Included in this opera is “Je crois entendre encore,” a staple in every tenor’s repertoire, and the duet “Au fond du temple saint.” Paolo Isotta writes of this production, “I have rarely seen a production as beautiful and faithful to the music.”

Picture Format: 16:9
Sound Formats: DTS 5.1, PCM Stereo
Subtitles: French, English, German, Spanish, Chinese, Korean
Booklet: English, German, French
Region Code: 0 (Worldwide)

"Very grand... Price is a highly dramatic Carmen, Mirella Freni contributes a most sensitively sung Micaëla, and Corelli sounds glorious..." -- BBC Music Magazine [reviewing the complete version, RCA 39495

"Karajan's RCA version, made in Vienna in 1964, owes much to Leontyne Price's seductive, smoky-toned Carmen... Robert Merrill sings with gloriously firm tone, while Mirella Freni is enchanting as Micaëla." -- The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs & DVDs [2003/4 edition, reviewing RCA 39495]

Remastered 1997.

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The one-act opera Djamileh by Georges Bizet set to the libretto by Louis Gallet tells an oriental love story between the slave named Djamileh and Cairo sultan Haroun. The plot, bringing to mind the atmosphere of One Thousand and One Nights, is a quite typical example of Romantic fascinations with the Far East. Bizet's had his doubts about the work- many considered it to be too difficult for a stage adaptation. However, the artistic craft of the creator of the balanced libretto surrounding the story of oriental lovers with a suggestive sound, and the craftsmanship of Jennifer Feinstein, performing the title, allows the listener to enjoy all the values ​​of this little known opera. Mezzo-soprano Jennifer Feinstein has been likened by the Los Angeles Times to "a young Horne, so rich is her mezzo and so full of spark was she on stage." She is becoming increasingly coveted for her portrayals of the dramatic mezzo repertoire.

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Opera Explained: BIZET - Carmen (Smillie)

Perhaps no opera is better known by more people than Carmen. It's musical themes are universally recognizable even in isolation. An exceptional cast distinguishes this particular performance: Jennifer Larmore, Angela Gheorgiu, and Sam Ramey give standout performances that bring this alternately soaring and salacious work to it's pinnacle.

Opera Choruses - NICOLAI, O. / WAGNER, R. / BEETHOVEN, L. va

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Award-winning conductor Kazuki Yamada leads Orchestre de la Suisse Romande in an all French program of highly melodious music. Most recently Kazuki Yamada was the winner at the 51st Besancon International Competition for young conductors in 2009, receiving the audience award as well as the Grand Prize.

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BIZET:L'ARLESIENNE/+/RÖGNER

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Includes work(s) by Georges Bizet. Ensemble: National Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Charles Munch.

This fascinating disc presents the young Georges Bizet' first composition after having won the prestigious Prix de Rome, the grandiose Te Deum, which remained unpublished until 1971, and his Prix de Rome cantata Clovis et Clotilde.

CARMEN: SIMIONATO-GEDDA-GÜDEN-

The success of Bizet’s opera Carmen has overshadowed the rest of his output, but this fascinating orchestral programme, which includes a number of seldom performed works, reveals more of his talent for writing colourful, atmospheric and melodic music. The Overture in A was Bizet’s first orchestral work and unperformed in his lifetime, while the Marche funèbre was originally the prelude to an opera about love and vengeance, now lost. The dramatic overture Patrie captures the mood following the Franco-Prussian war of 1870–71, while the Petite suite is a set of orchestrations of movements from Jeux d’enfants (Children’s Games). Conceived in Italy as a symphony, after Bizet had won the Prix de Rome, Roma occupied the composer for 11 years before the final version heard here.

CARMEN: DI STEFANO-SIMIONATO-C

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Despite the scandal it created with first staged in 1875, Carmen has subsequently become one of the world’s most popular operas. The love affair at its heart shocked contemporary audiences but the music is imperishably vibrant and exciting- so much so that, after the composer’s death, his friend Ernest Guiraud arranged two suites from the opera. Here the Toreador’s Song and the graphically sensuous Seguidilla and Habanera dances are heard in all their orchestral glory. The two suites from L’Arlesienne containe music of great charm and refined elegance.

An exhilarating new Carmen from Glyndebourne. Director David McVicar describes Carmen as "the first ever musical", and in his new production, with Anne Sofie von Otter in the title role, Carmen is restored to the original Opera. Comique as Bizet wrote it, stripping away subsequent re-workings which turned it into a grand opera. Philippe Jordan makes his Glyndebourne debut with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Glyndebourne Chorus and a cast that includes Marcus Haddock, Laurent Naouri and Lisa Milne. This double disc set also includes extensive extra features on costume, dance, characters and the gardens of Glyndebourne.

Extra features include:
* Costume design
* How to fight on stage
* Illustrated synopsis
* The cast and their characters
* Choreographing Carmen
* The Gardens of Glyndebourne
* Booklet with new short story by novelist Jeanette Winterson

PICTURE FORMAT: 16:9
SOUND: dts Surround/LPCM Stereo
SUBTITLES: English

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Beatrice Uria-Monzon, Roberto Alagna, Erwin Schrott, Marina Poplavskaya, Eliana Bayon, and Itxaro Mentxaka star in this Gran Teatre de Licieu production of the Bizet opera conducted by Marc Piollet and staged by Calixto Bieito.

*** This Blu-ray Disc is only playable on Blu-ray Disc players and not compatible with standard DVD or HD DVD players. ***

David McVicar’s exhilarating production, with Anne Sofie von Otter in the title role, restores the Opera Comique to Bizet’s masterpiece. Philippe Jordan, in his Glyndebourne debut, conducts the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Glyndebourne Chorus and a cast which includes Marcus Haddock, Laurent Naouri and Lisa Milne.

Moralès: Hans Voschezang
Micaëla: Lisa Milne
Don José: Marcus Haddock
Zuniga: Jonathan Best
Carmen: Anne Sofie von Otter
Frasquita: Mary Hegarty
Mercédès: Christine Rice
Lillas Pastia: Anthony Wise
Escamillo: Laurent Naouri
Le Dancaïre: Quentin Hayes
Le Remendado: Colin Judson
Le Guide: Franck Lopez

The Glyndebourne Chorus
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Philippe Jordan
Stage Director: David McVicar

Recorded live at the Glyndebourne Opera House, Sussex, on 17th August 2002.

Plus:
Illustrated synopsis & cast gallery.
Costume design.
Choreographing Carmen.
How to fight on stage.
The Gardens of Glyndebourne.

Reviews:

"Under the shrewd direction of McVicar, Anne Sofie von Otter gave us a gypsy of mercurial temperament, a tease, a dangerous flirt, and a woman intensely conscious of her sexual magnetism and of her public notoriety." -- Daily Telegraph

"Violent, passionate, superbly played… Glyndebourne’s Carmen is simply gripping." -- The Sunday Times

Region code: 0 (all regions)
Picture: 1080i
Sound: 2.0 & 5.1 Dolby True HD
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish

Carmen made Georges Bizet world famous, but he lived only a few months to enjoy the overwhelming success of this opera depicting love and jealousy among hot-blooded Spaniards. A swim in the cold Seine did him in. Today hardly anybody remembers that Bizet also composed piano music. To our good fortune, Johann Blanchard’s inventory of his rarities cabinet has yielded more new discoveries that will make the hearts of music lovers beat faster-while the lastest recording technology will have the same effect on those of audiophiles. Bizet was an outstanding pianist who already at the age of ten enjoyed the privilege of instruction at the Paris Conservatory- including lessons in composition. And so it is not surprising that his works for piano represent the very best of their times. Already the “Grande Valse de Concert” that the sixteen-year-old boldly labeled his Opus 1 and the “Premiere Nocturne” op. 2 composed during the same year display the genuinely orchestral design so typical of Bizet’s piano music.