Carmen-Suite = Кармен-Сюита

The Carmen Suite is a unique musical adaptation commissioned by Maya Plisetskaya, the legendary prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Theatre. In 1967, composer Rodion Shchedrin arranged Georges Bizet’s opera score into a vibrant, percussion-heavy single-movement work intended specifically for a ballet performance. The arrangement departed from the traditional orchestral approach, utilizing a complex array of strings and percussive instruments to convey the intensity and drama of the original opera within a modern choreographic framework.

This particular 1989 recording features the Moscow Virtuosi, a chamber orchestra founded and conducted by the renowned violinist Vladimir Spivakov. Released on the Soviet state label Melodiya, the record represents a collaborative refinement of Shchedrin’s work, showcasing the technical precision of Spivakov’s ensemble. By the late 1980s, these Melodiya pressings served as a primary conduit for Soviet classical artistry to reach both domestic and international audiences, documenting the evolution of a score that had become a staple of the Russian repertoire.