This 1987 revival of what was originally an expanded version of Peter Hall’s Glyndebourne staging, with traditional and evocative sets by the late lamented John Bury, appeared on VHS some years ago, when it doesn’t seem to have been reviewed in these pages. Much of the perceptive detail of the original, also available on VHS (on Castle), was lost in the move across the Atlantic, but it remains a well-groomed and intelligent production using lots of dialogue and accepting many of the Oeser emendations to the score. Levine conducts an inevitably (given the venue) large-scale and somewhat unsubtle account of the score.
Baltsa and Carreras played the principal roles opposite each other many times in the 1980s, most notably at Covent Garden in 1982. By 1987 neither is quite what they were. She remains magnetic, an athletic creature, who stalks, captures and discards her prey, bestriding the stage and Jose with equal aplomb. Her notably tangy tone now moves disconcertingly between chest and head register. He gives an ardent portrayal of a shy youth driven mad by Carmen’s wiles but, though the spirit is willing, his post-illness voice has lost its bloom and ease of movement. Mitchell is a simple, forthright Micaela, with tone a shade too weighty for the part. Ramey offers a vocally strong, dramatically anonymous Escamillo. The small parts are inadequately taken.
The Glyndebourne version and Rosi film of the work cannot long be delayed on DVD. They are worth the wait.'