Maria Callas never preformed Carmen on stage, but many of her fans consider her 1964 recording the very best on record. Critics wrote "the role seems custom made for her strengths. Carmen is fiery, volatile, infuriating, seductive. And Callas is such a superb singing actress, that she conveyed the characters complexity with rare effectiveness." Another said her Carmen was one of those rare experiences, like Piaf singing "La vie en Rose."
An excellent cast supports Callas. Nikolai Gedda is Don Jose, Robert Massard, Escamilo, and Andrea Guillot, Micaela.
Conductor Georges Pretre leads a very idiomatic, French performance, with the Rene Duclos Chorus, and the orchestra of the French National theater.