| This website contains information that anyone can find with Google. |
 |
|
 |
 |
|
| Carmen |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
| Carmen |
| Dramatic mezzo-soprano role. She is a beautiful gypsy who works in the Seville cigarette factory. |
| Year |
| Artist |
| 1927 |
| Ina Bourskaya |
| 1928 |
| Maria Jeritza |
| 1931 |
| Faina Petrova |
| 1934 |
| 1936 |
| Bruna Castagna |
| 1940 |
| Marjorie Lawrence |
| 1941 |
| Gladys Swarthout |
| 1942/ 1943 |
| Irra Petina |
| 1959 |
| Gloria Lane |
| 1944/ 1945 |
| Risë Stevens |
| 1960 |
| Jean Madeira |
| 1946 |
| Lily Djanel |
| 1948/ 1949 |
| Winifred Heidt |
| 1951 |
| Blanche Thebom |
| 1953 |
| Claramae Turner |
| 1955 |
| Nell Rankin |
| 1962 |
| Sona Cervena |
| 1964 |
| Regina Resnik |
| 1966 |
| Grace Bumbry |
| 1970 |
| 1981 |
| Teresa Berganza |
| Brigitte Fassbaender |
| 1991 |
| Kathleen Kuhlmann |
| 1996-1997 |
| 1998 sum |
|
| SF Opera Carmen History |
| 1931 * Faina Petrova, a portly mezzo, made a big, if questionable, impression in a Carmen with the god of love left out, and the audience marveled; they gasped." |
| 1948 * Carmen starred Winifred Heidt, who was tall, good-looking, sensuous in voice and relatively refined in interpretation. |
| * Reviews from Arthur Bloomfield's 1922-1978 The San Francisco Opera. |
| 1934 * This Carmen suffered from Ninon Vallin’s cool, intimate, straight-laced cigarette girl. |
| 1936 * The milky-voiced mezzo Bruna Castagina sang with vocal opulence. |
| 1940 * Marjorie Lawrence was the year’s Carmen, warm-voiced but entirely too stolid in personality. |
| 1942 * Irra Petina’s was a coy, devilish Carmen. |
| 1959 * Gloria Lane was a superb Carmen. Short, extremely bosomy and not made up to look wildly attractive, here was a Carmen who could sing beautifully the evening through without resorting to that self-consciously throaty sexiness of voice some Carmens love. |
| 1960 * Jean Madeira sang Carmen with a deep voice, rich as the Philadelphia Orchestra string section, sounded beautiful, but the portrayal was too healthy, good-natured and two-dimentional. |
| 1962 * Sona Cervena’s Carmen, and interpretation mixing finesse and caprice in interesting proportions. |
| 1966 * Grace Bumbry debuted with a richly sung Carmen, but their was disagreement over the degree of warmth, or coolness, in her interpretation. |
| 1964 * Regina Resnik wa a rather authoritative, if campy Carmen. |
| 1984 |
| Alicia Nafé |
 |
|
| To play scores on a piano and hear it in play back - open Classical Music Search in a new page. Play notes on piano and press the play button when finished. Using the search button will bring up any symphonic music that has the same notes. |
|
| Aria Data Base for Carmen |
|
| 2005-2006 |
| Kate Aldrich |
| 2005-2006 |
| 1996-From her entrance, Borodina's Carmen projected precocious weariness, sexy earthiness and utter willpower./ Review |
| 1998-Graves' Carmen is a more shadowy and insinuating figure now than seven years ago, but she still packs an erotic charge./ Review |
| 2001-2002 |
| 2001-2002 |
| Mzia Nioradze |
 |
| 2002-Singing the title role was Russian mezzo-soprano Marina Domashenko, a performer whose handsome demeanor, lightly powered vocalism and workaday characterization seemed to sum up the production's every asset and flaw./ Review Click Pic for her recorded version. |
| 2006-Hadar Halévy, making her company debut as the sweetest, sunniest, girl-next-dooriest Carmen in recent memory. . . . when she sang in the "Habanera" about the dangers of being loved by her, one could only assume she was referring to the risk of being blinded by her megawatt smile./ Review |
 |
| 1981-Teresa Berganza |
 |
| OR ANOTHER VIEW: She was confrontational, but never too harsh; provocative, but never menacing. ./ Review 2006 |
| 1981 |
| Hanna Schwarz |
 |
 |
| Here is a singer with both the lustrous lower range and forceful high notes...She moves easily and arrestingly on stage, and infuses even the most transitory moments with a sense of dramatic purpose... the sexiest, sultriest and most provocative "Habanera" in recent memory. / Review 2006 |
| Halévy, left and Aldrich, right in the SFO 2006 Carmen |
 |