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Bizet is best known for his opera Carmen, and through the two Carmen Suites you get a great compilation of his great melodies. Also, the L'Arlesienne Suite of incidental music from the play is another great compilation. The L'Arlesienne Suite II was put together after the composers death. Bizet's Symphony in C is his most famous orchestral work.
Beecham's recording of L'Arlesienne Suite I & II with Symphony in C is a great buy. For both L'Arlesienne and Carmen Suites together, try the Ormandy. Bernstein has a charged performance of Symphony in C, also with works by Offenbach in a lively CD. There is a bit of orchestral background commotion in the Bernstein recording, not too bad though, and the performance makes up for the restless NY Phil.
A nice disc of
Carmen highlights is available from Burgos.
I tend not to recommend full opera discs, since I do not own many and they
tend to be expensive, but the Laserlight 2 CD recording of Carmen
is a great buy for under $7. I do not own this, and it probably does not come
with a libretto, but Laserlight puts out decent recordings, and I imagine
that this recording may not be spectacular, but it is sure to be listenable,
and a great way to here the entire opera. [You will need to spend $25-35 for
a 'Name Brand' full recording]. Here
is a Carmen Libretto with translation.
Symphony
In C - L'Arlesienne Suites 1 & 2
Conductor: Sir Thomas Beecham
Ensemble: Royal Philharmonic Orch / ORTF National Orch
Label: EMI Classics
Catalog: 67259
Bizet:
Symphony 1 in C
Offenbach - Gaite Parisienne
Conductor: Leonard Bernstein
Ensemble: New York Philharmonic Orchestra
Label: Sony
Catalog: 61830
Carmen
/ Highlights
Conductor: R. Fruhbeck de Burgos
Ensemble: National Theater Opera Orchestra of Paris
Label: EMI Seraphim
Catalog: 74127
Carmen
[2 CD Set]
Conductor: Ivan Marinov
Ensemble: Sofia National Opera Chorus
Label: Laserlight
Catalog: 14277
OUT OF PRINT SELECTIONS
Carmen
Suites 1 & 2 / L'Arlesienne Suites
Conductor: Eugene Ormandy
Ensemble: Philadelphia Orchestra
Label: Sony
Catalog: 48159