Recorded at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, and features Natalie Dessay, Rolando Villazon, Samuel Ramey, and the Symphony Orchestra and Chorus of the Gran Teatre del Liceu, with Victor Pablo Perez conducting.

Set before and during the French Revolution, Andrea Chénier is an idealistic poet, caught in the political violence, and Maddalena is the woman he loves.

Carmen, a beautiful and sultry gypsy, woos the corporal Don José. Their relationship leads to his rejection of his former love, mutiny against his superior, and joining a gang of smugglers. His jealousy when she turns from him to the bullfighter Escamillo leads to murder.