An energetic and seductive Carmen for the ages.

TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Seriously, I have no life.
If any one wants a thoroughly enjoyable BD then this production of Carmen from Glyndebourne is for you.

This production is beautifully recorded and filmed by the BBC. It has the most realistic balance of pit and stage I have heard to date.

Most of you will already be familiar with a lot of the music. There is not a bad voice on stage. Anne Sofie Von Otto, is in fine voice as Carmen. She shows herself to an actress of the first rank and a gorgeous seductress.

Philipe Jordan leads an energetic performance from start to finish and that's putting it mildly.

The fight seen is up to anything from Hollywood.

Anybody who spends a few dollars on this disc will not be disappointed, and I bet will play it again and again.

I regard this disc as landmark in how far we have come in reproducing a live event in the home.
 
Alex2507

Alex2507

Audioholic Slumlord
Thanks for the recommendation. Netflix has it and that's going to my route. I just got through reading a summary of what the opera is about and what a short but sweet life the compser lived. Rest assured that my girl friend will be cursing you because she can't stand this stuff. ;)
 
TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Seriously, I have no life.
Thanks for the recommendation. Netflix has it and that's going to my route. I just got through reading a summary of what the opera is about and what a short but sweet life the compser lived. Rest assured that my girl friend will be cursing you because she can't stand this stuff. ;)
If your rig is any good, this could very well change her mind. All the issues raised are even more relevant today unfortunately.
 
J

jostenmeat

Audioholic Spartan
I regard this disc as landmark in how far we have come in reproducing a live event in the home.
This is very high praise. I will waver for a while on the decision whether to rent or buy, but I will see it, thank you for the recommendation.
 
Alex2507

Alex2507

Audioholic Slumlord
If your rig is any good, this could very well change her mind. All the issues raised are even more relevant today unfortunately.
I watched about an hour and a half of it last night ... my first opera. I've tried listening to opera but watching is obviously the way it was meant to be taken in. Who knew it was going to be so ... pelvic? Are you sure you're old enough to be watching that? :)

The girl isn't going to be won over regardless of the SQ and merit of the opera itself ... but I didn't get her to head up my Ministry of Cultural Development. That's what you and Jostenmeat are for. ;)
 
GO-NAD!

GO-NAD!

Audioholic Spartan
I watched about an hour and a half of it last night ... my first opera. I've tried listening to opera but watching is obviously the way it was meant to be taken in. Who knew it was going to be so ... pelvic? Are you sure you're old enough to be watching that? :)

The girl isn't going to be won over regardless of the SQ and merit of the opera itself ... but I didn't get her to head up my Ministry of Cultural Development. That's what you and Jostenmeat are for. ;)
I have the same issues at my house. :rolleyes: I'm very open to all kinds of music, but SWMBO isn't quite as adventurous. I don't have a BD player yet, but when I do, I'll try to remember to check out that particular BD. I'd probably be watching it alone though. Then again, if it's as arousing as you say it is, that may not matter....;)
 
J

jostenmeat

Audioholic Spartan
I have the same issues at my house. :rolleyes: I'm very open to all kinds of music, but SWMBO isn't quite as adventurous. I don't have a BD player yet, but when I do, I'll try to remember to check out that particular BD. I'd probably be watching it alone though. Then again, if it's as arousing as you say it is, that may not matter....;)
I don't know if you ever saw the thread, but I recommend you watch this one as well, Herbert von Karajan Memorial Concert Blu-ray.

I bet Alex wishes the violinist was more pelvic during her performance. Dirty monkey.
 
TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Seriously, I have no life.
If any one wants a thoroughly enjoyable BD then this production of Carmen from Glyndebourne is for you.

This production is beautifully recorded and filmed by the BBC. It has the most realistic balance of pit and stage I have heard to date.

Most of you will already be familiar with a lot of the music. There is not a bad voice on stage. Anne Sofie Von Otto, is in fine voice as Carmen. She shows herself to an actress of the first rank and a gorgeous seductress.

Philipe Jordan leads an energetic performance from start to finish and that's putting it mildly.

The fight seen is up to anything from Hollywood.

Anybody who spends a few dollars on this disc will not be disappointed, and I bet will play it again and again.

I regard this disc as landmark in how far we have come in reproducing a live event in the home.
Anne Sofie Von Otter really turns up the heat dosen't she? When things click in the opera house there is no finer spectacle.
 
Alex2507

Alex2507

Audioholic Slumlord
It's Official: The Girl Hates It. :rolleyes:

I can't say I'm surprised about that. What I am surprised about is that I enjoyed the beginning more this time than the first time. There's a back beat of music when Carmen is singing about 'love being a gypsy child that has never known law' that really hit home for me. I noticed little nuances in the acting and even in the stage lighting that had previously escaped me. This is a well rehearsed performance put on by performers of high caliber and that goes for the lighting and props people too. I think I watched my first viewing of this with my old rec'r and even though I know it makes me a nut bar ... forget it, I won't utter it. Let's just say that for an undisclosed reason I do believe that I enjoyed the orchestral and vocal music in the beginning more this time around. Who cares why, right?

As soon as we got to Michael singing about a mother's kiss my girl's film snapped and her reel started going kacketta kacketta kacketta ... I scrambled for the remote and put an end to it lest SWMBO (sometimes I call her little Mussolini) be subjected to another moment of torture. I'm going to wait until I am alone and have time to take this in in one shot with maybe a latte and freshly cleaned eyeglasses.
 
J

jostenmeat

Audioholic Spartan
This is very high praise. I will waver for a while on the decision whether to rent or buy, but I will see it, thank you for the recommendation.
It took a while, but at least today I'm a man of my word. I finished it last night. I can easily see why the praise is so high, the supreme audio quality is very readily apparent, and for me, especially in the final act. While it crossed my mind more than once during the viewing, it was indeed in the final act that my much less than ideal center speaker placement was doing a great injustice to this BD. I was particularly impressed by Don Jose's character, but I don't remember the name of the performer. Opera is not my bag, and so I still doubt that I would buy this disc, but this recording really is absolutely top notch in terms of audio. Excellent music BDs are probably the greatest driving factor in my desire to get an AT screen.

For video, it is the very best 1080i BD that I have ever seen. However, in my own personal experiences, darker scenes make video issues much less apparent, and Carmen is very dark throughout. Yet, the final act is brighter, and it still looked like the best 1080i BD I have ever seen.

Cheers, and thanks for the rec and review.
 

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