Carmen

After making her debut as Carmen in 1995, powerhouse American mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves went on to headline 48 Met performances of the opera over the course of the next decade. In this 2003 Saturday Matinee Radio Broadcast, Graves sings her signature role alongside an equally extraordinary cast, which also includes tenor Neil Shicoff as the Spanish corporal Don José, soprano Mary Dunleavy as the demure Micaëla, and baritone Ludovic Tézier as the bullfighter Escamillo. Yves Abel conducts Bizet’s tuneful score, which includes some of the repertoire’s most popular melodies—from Carmen’s Habanera and Seguidilla to Escamillo’s Toreador Song.