Bizet: Carmen
Tatiana Troyanos was reportedly never comfortable on stage as Carmen, but she sings it  ravishingly well in this recording, in good voice and at home with the character. Placido Domingo,  seemingly the only Don José of our era, gives one of his best accounts of the role; Dame Kiri Te  Kanawa sings beautifully as Micaëla, and Jose van Dam's Escamillo offers just the right blend of  macho swagger. The dialogue is unusually well done, and Georg Solti's conducting, though lacking  some Gaelic wit, gets the serious parts spot-on.--Sarah Bryan Miller