This page lists all recordings of Carmen - Prelude to Act 1, by Georges Bizet (1838-75) on CD & DVD. Generally, more recent CDs and DVDs are listed first, but with priority given to items that are in stock. |
All recordingsPrices shown exclude VAT. (UK tax is not payable for deliveries to United States.)
See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | Bizet - L' Arlésienne Orchestral Suites(CD/Book)
Les Musiciens du Louvre & Chœur de l’opéra de Lyon, Marc Minkowski Marc Minkowski, one of the most outstanding conductors of our time, has joined naïve for a long-term collaboration during which he will be surveying the music of Bach, Handel, Haydn and Mozart, among others. The first in this series of recordings features the works of Georges Bizet performed on instruments of the period. It brings an original approach to the music from two of his masterpieces, L’Arlésienne and Carmen.
In 1872, Bizet composed the incidental music for Daudet’s theatre play L’Arlésienne. Following the huge success of this music, he composed a suite for orchestra based on the best pieces included in the original incidental music. In 1879, four years after Bizet’s death, his friend Guiraud arranged a new orchestral suite, mainly based on Bizet’s music, but also adding new quotes from the incidental music. In 2007 Marc Minkowski selected the best pieces from the original incidental music and conceived his own fascinating suite. The program is completed with the Prelude” and three “Entr’actes” form Carmen. “To hear Bizet played on period instruments, and in the hands of musicians steeped in the French repertoire, gives special pleasure...Iit is rare to hear the purely orchestral movements of Bizet’s operatic masterpiece delivered with such flair, colour and authentic flavour: Minkowski’s Musiciens give us a truly Mozartian approach, as the composer would have wished, to music all too often overlaid with anachronistic verismo dynamism. In the Girl from Arles music...the delicacy and brilliance of the playing evoke the unique Provençal atmosphere of Daudet’s play as vividly as the Carmen music depicts Spain. Minkowski catches to perfection the swagger and exhilaration of the famous Farandole [in both its settings]” Sunday Times, 25th May 2008 ***** “Minkowski has a ball with these suites, relishing their rich sonorities and glorious melodies, while at the same time investing them with a serious-minded sensitivity. The L’Arlésienne suites have rarely sounded so genuinely moving.” Gramophone Magazine “The choral singing is splendid and the playing of Les Musiciens du Louvre alternates sparkle with delicacy of colour and feeling, while the recording and sumptuous packaging are first-class. This is now a clear first choice on virtually all counts for those wanting a disc combining music from Carmen and L'Arlésienne.” Gramophone Magazine, June 2008 “I find it hard to know what to praise most, the vivid, taut rhythms of the various marches and dances… the sensuous orchestral colours of the quieter moments, of the passion that suddenly erupts… in the L'Arlésienne overture.” BBC Music Magazine, June 2008 *****  BBC Music Magazine
Orchestral Choice - June 2008 |
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| |  | Opera Without Words
The most famous overtures, preludes and interludes from the world’s greatest operas. | 
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| |  | Karajan Gold
Bach, J S: | Air (from Orchestral Suite No. 3, BWV1068 'Air on a G String') | Beethoven: | Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61 - Rondo Anne-Sophie Mutter (violin) Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67 - Allegro con brio | Bizet: | Carmen - Prelude to Act 1 | Dvorak: | Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95 'From the New World' - Largo | Grieg: | Peer Gynt: Morning | Holst: | The Planets: Mars | Mascagni: | Cavalleria Rusticana: Intermezzo | Massenet: | Meditation (from Thais) | Mozart: | Serenade No. 13 in G major, K525 'Eine kleine Nachtmusik' - Allegro | Offenbach: | Barcarolle (from The Tales of Hoffman) | Pachelbel: | Canon & Gigue | Ravel: | Boléro | Rossini: | La gazza ladra Overture | Smetana: | Má Vlast: Vltava | Strauss, J, I: | Radetsky March, Op. 228 | Strauss, J, II: | An der schönen, blauen Donau, Op. 314 | Suppe: | Light Cavalry Overture | Tchaikovsky: | Serenade in C for Strings Op. 48 : Walzer Moderato Tempo di Valse The Nutcracker: Waltz of the Flowers | Vivaldi: | The Four Seasons: Spring, RV269 (Allegro) |
Berliner Philharmoniker & Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan To celebrate the 100th anniversary of Herbert von Karajan (1908–1989), this double album showcases the greatest classical hits conducted by the most famous conductor of the 20th century | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Kurt Masur - A Life In MusicThe Anniversary Gala from Leipzig
MDR Radio Choir & Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Kurt Masur Recorded live at the Gewandhaus zu Leipzig, 15-16 June 2007 “Warm, young blood still courses through the veins of this octogenarian .” The Times | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Roberto Alagna - Live in Paris
Roberto Alagna (tenor) Orchestre des Concerts Lamoureux, Anton Guadagno Live recording at Paris, Salle Gaveau, Paris, January 8 & 11 2001 “He is out-and-out magnificent: warm and tender, ardent and elegiac, with beautiful high notes, impeccable phrasing and singing of a perfect intelligibility.”
Le Monde | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Maria Callas - Life And Art
Bellini: | Casta Diva (from Norma) Compagne, teneri amici…Come per me sereno… (from La sonnambula, Act I) Son vergin vezzosa (from I Puritani) | Berlioz: | D'amour l'ardente flamme (from La damnation de Faust) | Bizet: | Carreau ! Pique ! (Card Scene) (from Carmen) Me voilà seule…Comme autrefois (from Les Pêcheurs de Perles) Carmen - Prelude to Act 1 DVD Habanera (L'amour est un oiseau rebelle) (from Carmen) DVD Près des ramparts de Séville (Séguedille) (from Carmen) DVD Carmen - Entr'acte to Act III (Intermezzo) DVD | Boito: | L'altra notte in fondo al mare (Mefistofele, Act III) | Catalani: | La Wally: Ebben? Ne andrò lontana | Charpentier, G: | Depuis le jour (Louise, Act III) | Cilea: | Ecco: respiro appena. Io son l'umile ancella (Adriana Lecouvreur, Act I) | Donizetti: | Al dolce guidami castel natio (Anna Bolena, Act II) Regnava nel silenzio…Quando rapito in estasi (Lucia di Lammermoor, Act I) | Giordano, U: | Andrea Chénier: La mamma morta | Gounod: | Ah ! Je veux vivre dans ce rêve (Roméo et Juliette, Act I) Un bouquet !…Ah ! je ris (Jewel Song) (Faust, Act III) | Mascagni: | Voi lo sapete o mamma (from Cavalleria rusticana) | Massenet: | De cet affreux combat…Pleurez, mes yeux ! (from Le Cid) Werther ! Qui m'aurait dit…Des cris joyeux (Letter Scene) (from Werther) De cet affreux combat…Pleurez, mes yeux ! (from Le Cid) DVD | Ponchielli: | Suicidio! (La Gioconda, Act IV) | Puccini: | Donde lieta usci (Mimì) Act III La Bohème Tosca: 'Vissi d'arte' Madama Butterfly: 'Un bel di vedremo' Turandot: 'Signore, ascolta' Manon Lescaut: 'Sola, perduta, abandonnata' Gianni Schicchi: 'O mio babbino caro' | Rossini: | Nacqui all'affanno, al pianto... Non più mesta accanto al fuoco (from La Cenerentola) DVD | Saint-Saëns: | Printemps qui commence (from Samson et Dalila) | Thomas, Ambroise: | Ah, pour ce soir…Je suis Titania (Polonaise) (Mignon, Act II) | Verdi: | D'amor sull'ali rosee (Il trovatore, Act IV) Ritorna vincitor! (from Aida) Caro nome (from Rigoletto) Sempre libera (from La Traviata) Live 1958 recording Surta è la notte...Ernani! Ernani, involami (from Ernani) DVD O don fatale (from Don Carlo) |
This timeless set (2xCD & 1xDVD) comes in a luxurious collector’s edition package with a hardback 80+ page booklet featuring glorious colour and B&W photos of history’s greatest diva | | | Usually despatched in 3 - 4 working days. |
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Gramophone Magazine