Customer Reviews

Verdi: Don Carlos (complete opera); Alagna, Hampson, van Dam

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Don Carlos has been very lucky on record. It seems that every artist involved with this opera is forced to give his best. There are treasurable recordings conducted by Santini (DG), Giulini (EMI) and Solti (DECCA). When Abbado recorded the original French version in 1984, it was a revelation. The original French is much better than the Italian translation. But unfortunately, in spite of Placido Domingo and Abbado' s superb conducting, the rest of the cast was rather disappointing. Tony Pappano readily shows that he has Verdi in his blood in this, his first Verdi recording. The cast is the finest that could be assembled today. All of the leads give terrific performances and everyone is in good voice. Jose van Dam has been criticized for being too light of voice for Philippe. Nonsense, he sings with warmth and conviction, and should not be accused of not being Ghiaurov or Siepi. Alagna, Mattila and Hampson are fresh voiced and very involved. Waltraut Meier is very erotic and sensuous. This is a very successful affair, and I doubt that a better Don Carlos will come in many years.

There is no denying that this performance is well sung, with better French diction than the Abbado, and that it is effective as drama. But bear66 below is the only reviewer here that gets it right -- this is a composite, NOT the original 1867 version, and the fact that it has been promoted as such is frankly false advertising.

The Prelude and Introduction, cut prior to 1867 is not included. Fair enough. But then in Act II, Posa's account to Carlos of his visit to Flanders is included: Verdi also cut this before the 1867 premiere. The Posa-Philip duet jumps to the 1884 version at the 2/3 mark. The mask changing scene between Elizabeth and Eboli is included, but the ballet is not, strictly contrary to Verdi's expressed intentions. A fragment only of the Elizabeth/Eboli duet, another number cut prior to 1867, is included -- there is no authority that I know of for its inclusion in this form. The "Lacrymosa" ensemble was also cut prior to 1867. The "marziale" section from the final duet is cut, something that was not instituted until the 1872 Naples revision, never for Paris. The ending is also not the Paris version which included a chorus of Inquisitors who try and convict Carlos.

So what do we have? It is not 1867, nor is it the version Verdi completed in 1866 prior to the cuts. It starts as 1867, then reverts to 1866, then jumps ahead to 1884, then back to 1867, further back to 1866, then ahead to 1872 and finally 1884. There are significantly, no liner notes detailing this other than a vague references to "choices" having been made.

The performance is still worth having, particularly since it contains passages not available elsewhere. I simply object to the dishonest way in which this has been presented to the public, particularly those who are less familiar with the history of the opera and take the "Original French Version" claim at face value.

A composite of earlier versions, this recording is really a series of snapshots of "Don Carlos" as a work in progress. Those who know the later version(s) well will find some unexpected twists, as parts of the score venture off in completely different directions from what you're used to hearing. This can be disconcerting, but it is also an opportunity to re-examine an old favorite from a new vantage point.

This recording is the only one that is recent at all of the French original of this work. Most reviewers have written extensively about this fact. The only thing we are lacking is the original ending (which I believe was cut even before the first performance, but was recorded in the Domingo recording of the French version of the opera; the Lacrimosa from the Reguiem is well served in its original setting). Since this is a live recording, there are some flaws. There are pitch problems, and the sound is rather distant, which in my view takes from the excitement that the audience most likely felt while watching the performance. I also feel that is one reason the conducting and the orchestral reading seem less involved, less alive, than it sounds in either of the Italian Studio versions, or in the full first French recording of the work with Domingo. This truly is an exciting score, and a great opera. It, however, is NOT Verdi's only French opera. His other famous failure in Paris was "Les Vepres Siciliennes." Unlike Don Carlos, "I Vespri Siciliani", as we have come to know the work, was never rewritten, nor did Verdi ever prepare an Italian version of the work. It was simply translated when brought to Italy. Though people think of it as an Italian opera, it too is every bit as French as Don Carlos was, even more so, for it was never officially rewritten to be an Italian opera.

Don Carlo, though, went through extensive changes, some were for the better tightening the action and the musical thoughts; others were not an improvement at all. The Five Act version recorded by Guilini is an Italian version created by Verdi where he replaced the first act, but retained his changes in the other acts that he had written when creating the four act version. In this recording, as with the French version sung by Domingo, we are witnessing the original thoughts on the matter. The differences, excepting the obvious number of acts, are subtle, but noticeable.

The singers do a wonderful job in this recording, and as with all live performances, there are warts. Sometimes the singers are not true to the center of the note, and sometimes they don't carry as well as they should (the grand inquisitor for one, his very low F below the cleff is not that well produced, but it is very audible; with our dirth of true basses these days, it is a wonder they found anyone who could sing the note at all). Yet, over all, it is a stunning representation of the work. If only, like one reviewer mentioned, this recording would be recorded in the studio so we could really experience the entire concept of the work. Singing is important to Verdi, but so is orchestra, and that is the area that most suffers in live recordings. The orchestra is seldom balanced as well as we would hope.

I rated the recording a five star because it is worth it. It is a wonderful recording, and a super exceptional representation of a great opera by a great compose. Too often Don Carlos, especially the original French version, has been dismissed as "a failure", "ineffective", and all those sorts of terms, when in reality, even though the ending of the opera is dramatically weak, it is nothing of the sort. It is a very vital, exciting work, and the orginal concept Verdi created is in many ways far superior to what he did with it later. I would recommend it to anyone, and everyone, who loves good opera.

I make no bones about the fact that this is my favorite opera. I was however, reluctant to sink my teeth into the original French version, preferring the 4-act Italian one. Boy was I missing out!!
The cast here is unrivaled. The one slight weak-link is Mattila who seems to push her notes a bit too much, but she is still one of the better Elisabetta's on disc. Alagna is fiery and touching in all his scenes and Hampson and Meier give it their all. The real star though is Jose Van Dam as Filippo. Too often, this part played and sung as a one-dimensional villain. Not Van Dam. His Filippo is a sad, introspective old man, facing the loss of his family and his power.
A lot of the music here was new to me as well and I know feel that it should never be cut. In particular, there is an amazing duet for Alagna and Van Dam that was later recycled as the Lacrymosa from the Requiem.

It is about time that that this long neglected original French version of Don Carlos gets back into the limelight against its younger brother, the Italian Don Carlo. The French version is definitely more complete, richer in musical details than the subsequent Italian version. We can see after listeneing to a good French Don Carlos, that Verdi rewrote it without too much care, just to salvage something out of an unjust Paris bombing of the premiere. This version compares favorably with the previous one featuring Placido Domingo. In this version the French diction of the singers is overall better. Having Alagna and Van Dam, native speakers, and Hampson who might as well be a native speaker, bring forth the sonorities for which Verdi composed first this opera before having to rewrite it in the better known Italian version. French opera is always difficult to cast but today with newcomers such as Alagna and polished singers such as Hampson one hopes that French opera will reoccupy the place it deserves. This version for all of its virtues suffers from the fact that it is a live recording. If it adds an occasional sense of urgency, it still dampens the quality of the sound and opens the door to audience reaction which can distract some. However those are minor things and it should not detract the opera lover from adding this version to her collection. Mattila and Meier are quite good here though the Eboli personage outshines the Queen. If it had been recorded in studio with the same cast it would have definitely deserved 5 stars.

It is a good thing to have this recording of the French "Don Carlos", since it gives us an idea of what the French "grand opéra" masterpiece that Verdi first composed can sound like. As a recording however, this can only have a secondary place in your collection - next to one of the far-superior studio recordings of the Italian version "Don Carlo" : Giulini's unmissable "EMI recording with Domingo, Caballé, Raimondi, Verrett (a real "classic" and now re-issued in the mid-price class !) or, possibly, Solti's Decca recording (mainly because of Bergonzi). I do not care much for the "live" sound of this recording, but what we witness here must have been quite an exciting night at the Theatre du Chatelet. Both Mattila and Alagna give a superb and very involved performance. The biggest surprise comes perhaps from Mattila : her lyric soprano is hardly "Verdian" but somehow suits Elisabeth's character much better than one might have expected. Her portrayal of the young queen can be very moving indeed. However as vivid as their performance sounds here, Alagna and Mattila can in no way compete with the sheer beauty of Domingo and Caballe's singing for Giulini. Van Dam might not be your usual impressively threatening King Philippe but gives a fine portrayal of the tortured man, and Hampson makes a suitably generous Rodrigue. Waltraud Meier's outstanding acting ability might have made an interesting Princesse d'Eboli on stage (which could explain the applause after "O don fatal") but there is unfortunately not much left of the acting on record and if her "O don fatal" might be qualified as "suitably powerful", her interpretation of the "Veil song" is just plain horrible !

Mt first reaction (listening to the start of the opera) was like the reviewer below - disappointment. I thought this must be a great deception. Why disappointed? Because this set didn't sound like Giulini's or Solti's. But wait. If it sounded the same, why would I want another copy. So I opened up my mind and listened. Now I changed my mind.

1. Sure, this version is not as 'excitable' as the Solti version. Solti whips the orchestra into a bit of a frenzy at times. Here, you don't have so much of that. The drama moves forward but in an elegant manner. I must say that the orchestra playing here is below the Solti and Giulini sets.

2. So this set has no hope? Not really. Salvation for this set comes from the singers. At the top of the heap is the gorgeously sung Elisabetta of Karita Mattila. Her singing alone is worth price of this set. I am mesmerized every time she appears. She certainly sounds youthful compared to Tebaldi. Her Act 5 aria is gorgeous!! Balm to the ears.

3. The second saving point of this set is the man himself, Alagna. Yes, Alagna goes flat at times - his pitch is wrong sometimes. But, oh, this guy has such a sweet and pleasant voice that I forgive his intonation problems. Yes, whenever he appears, he too captivates me.

The rest of the singing is excellent. Waltraud Meier doesn't have a very attractive tone but perhaps that shows that Eboli is not sich a likeable person. So this reading is not exciting in the Solti or Giulini sense. This set is not too well recorded - everything is too distant - orchestra, chorus and singers. But the singing is so pleasant to listen to that this performance becomes a pleasure. Yes, Pappano takes leisurely tempi (but certainly not dragging). But I think it works. Since this is a 'live' performance, I can forgive the intonation problems and other mistakes.

I look forward to another recording of Don Carlos. This time, I want to hear Gheorghiu singing Elisabetta. Her recital disc has an absolutely stunning Elisabetta - the best I've ever heard - better than Mattila, Tebaldi or Caballe. So Gheorghiu MUST give us her Elisabetta at some point in her career.

Well done, EMI, Pappano and team. I wish you would have done better. You could have triumphed over Giulini and Solti but you did not. Still, this is good work.

Having both listened to this production on CD and viewed it on video, I can't recommend it enough. Despite much pomp and choral panache, Don Carlos is a drama about human relationship and conflict. Early into a viewing of the video, it became quite clear that this production was special -- Mattila, Van Dam, Hampson, Meier and even Alagna come through with consistently fine singing and the emotional/dramatic chemistry that are a must in order to pull off these roles. Far from overdone with the usual dark sets and heavy costumes, the smart-looking production actually supported its somewhat more youthful-than-usual cast. Kudos to conductor Pappano as well -- he was obviously inspired. I only wish I could have been at the Chatalet to see this gem of an opera ... I would have known what to say to the rest of us who claim that there are no more memorable opera productions .....

This live recording of Verdi's best opera is one of my favorites. The cast is strong: Alagna singing in French is wonderful, Mattila's singing is simply gorgeous (Elisabeth's Act V aria is stunning, the best performance of this aria I ever heard), Hampson is an elegant Rodrigue and Van Dam, though quite lyric when compared to Christoff or Ghiaurov, is a noble and sonorous Philippe.

No friend of Verdi operas should be without this set.