Carmen

​Georges Bizet composed the opera in four acts, with libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halevy, based on a novel by Prosper Merimee, in 1875. Its first performance was at the Opera-Comique in Paris on 3 March 1875, where its conventions breaking story-line shocked and scandalized its first audiences. It is set in southern Spain and tells the story of the downfall of Don Jose, a naive soldier who is seduced by the fiery gypsy Carmen. Jose abandons his childhood sweetheart and deserts his military duties, yet loses Carmen's love to the glamorous torero Escamillo. Jose then kills her in a jealous rage. The depictions of proletarian life, immorality, and lawlessness, and the tragic death of the main character on stage, broke new ground in French opera and were highly controversial. Nevertheless, it achieved international acclaim within the following ten years, and since has become one of the most popular and frequently performed operas in the classical canon. 

Here are four albums:

​Bizet: Carmen. Sir Thomas Beecham with Victoria de los Angeles (Carmen), Nicolai Gedda (Don Jose), Ernest Blanc (Escamillo), Janine Micheau (Micaela), Denise Monteil (Frasquita), Jean-Christophe Benoit (Dancaire), Michel Hamel (Remendado), and Orchestre National de la Radiodiffusion Française. Release Date: 3 May 2019. Label: Warner Classics.
 
Bizet: Carmen. Georges Pretre with Maria Callas (soprano), Andrea Guiot (soprano), Jacques Mars (bass), Nadine Sautereau (soprano), Jane Berbié (mezzo-soprano), Robert Massard (baritone), Jacques Pruvost (tenor), Claude Cales (baritone), Nicolai Gedda (tenor), Maurice Maievski (baritone), Jean-Paul Vauquelin (baritone), Maurice Maievski (tenor), and Choeurs d'enfants Jean Pesneaud, Choeurs René Duclos, Orchestre de l'Opéra National de Paris. Release Date: 22 Sept 2014. Label: Warner Classics.
 
Bizet: Carmen. Sir Simon Rattle with Magdalena Kozená (mezzo-soprano), Andrè Schuen (baritone), Jonas Kaufmann (tenor), Christian van Horn (bass), Genia Kühmeier (soprano), Christian van Horn (tenor), Magdalena Kozená (soprano), Christina Landshammer (soprano), Andrè Schuen (bass), Simone del Savio (baritone), Jean Paul Fouchecourt (bass), Christina Landshammer (tenor), Kostas Smoriginas (baritone), Rachel Frenkel (mezzo-soprano), Jean-Paul Fouchécourt (tenor), Kostas Smoriginas (bass), Jean Paul Fouchecourt (tenor), and Berliner Philharmoniker, Vinzenz Weissenburger, Chor des Deutschen Staatsoper, Chor und Kinderchor der Deutschen Staatsoper Berlin, Eberhard Friedrich. Release Date: 20 Aug 2012. Label: Warner Classics.
 
Bizet: Carmen. Lorin Maazel with Julien Guiomar (vocals), Susan Daniel (mezzo-soprano), Accurzio Di Leo (vocals), John Paul Bogart (bass), Julia Migenes (soprano), Lilian Watson (soprano), François Le Roux (baritone), Plácido Domingo (tenor), Jean-Philippe Lafont (baritone), Faith Esham (soprano), Gérard Garino (tenor), Ruggero Raimondi (baritone), and Orchestre National de France, Choeurs et Maîtrise de Radio France. Release Date: 20 May 2016. Label: Erato.