This live performance from the Salzburg Festival in 1967 is peculiar, even by conductor Herbert von Karajan"s standards. The good news is the casting of the sultry Grace Bumbry in the title role, the white-hot, overly sensitive Jon Vickers as Don José, and Mirella Freni--the only soprano ever to make something special out of Micaela. Justino Diaz is a mediocre Escamillo, and Karajan"s tempi--some very, very slow--are a distraction, but if it"s a full Carmen with Vickers and Bumbry you need, this is quite a bargain. --Robert Levine