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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent all around choice., June 1, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Verdi: Don Carlos (Audio CD)
If your looking for a basic representative Don Carlos, this is the choice. The cast and conducting is excellent. All the soloists were in peak form (early 70's) and it's a splendid lineup. Giulini uses Verdi's 4 act revision with the original 1st act appended, a good overall edition. Karajan and Muti use just the 4 act version, but I always miss the Fountainbleau scene, it has some lovely music (the Carlos/Elizabeth duet is wonderful). The Abbado recording is fine if you want the French language of the later revision and some of the Paris music in the appendix, but the performances are rather lukewarm (with the exception of Abbado & Domingo). The recent Pappano is also interesting, but it's a rather quirky edition. The only Paris version I have found is a live radio recording on VOCE (I haven't seen it in any catalogue recently) with good French and the complete reconstructed score. If you want all possible Don Carlos music, you need multiple recordings. If you want a good, solid, 5 act version with well-turned performances, try this one. I've loved it for 25 years.
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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent recording of one of Verdi's greatest works, March 26, 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: Verdi: Don Carlos (Audio CD)
Don Carlos, certainly Verdi's most complex opera and one of his longest, contains some of the most memorable music he ever wrote. Act 4, Scene 1 might be the best scene in any of his operas. However, this opera has had a rather patchy history, with the original attempt much too long, and Verdi reworked it several times. This Giulini recording from 1971 uses the 1886 edition, which combines the four revised acts of 1883 with the Fontainebleau scene from 1867. I think this is the best version of the opera: without the Fontainebleau scene, the opera doesn't have a beginning. Before I get into the actual review, I want to voice a few picky points about EMI's accompanying booklet. First, like all EMI recordings, the track cues are not listed next to the text in the libretto, which is annoying. "Ella giammai m'amò" is listed in the track index as being at the end of CD 2, when in fact it begins CD 3, with the result that the track numbers for CD 3 are all messed up. The award for most annoying mistake, however, has to go to the awful break between discs in the middle of the Carlos/Elisabetta duet in Act 2, Scene 2. The duet in its entirety could easily have fitted on to either disc. Now, to the review proper. Giulini takes rather leisurely tempi, but I am certainly not against this, as the drama and power still emerge through the intensity of the direction and playing. Plácido Domingo makes an ideal Don Carlos, sounding youthful, ardent, heroic and psychologically unstable as demanded by the plot, and throughout the opera is wonderful, shining timbre is intact. Montserrat Caballé, as Elisabetta, is a bit steadier of voice here than in the Muti "Aida", also with Domingo on EMI. Her wonderful voice is heard to best advantage in this recording, and her Act 5 "Tu che le vanita" is gorgeous. Ruggero Raimondi makes a wonderful, intense Filippo, with great diction and word coloring. However, with his black tone and huge voice, I think he would have made an even better Grand Inquisitor (my ideal Filippo is Nicolai Ghiaurov on the flawed Solti set). I have a couple reservations about Shirley Verrett as Eboli, though. First of all, her top notes are rather thin, especially in the Veil Song and "O don fatale." Also, her coloratura in the veil song leaves much to be desired. Still, she offers a dramatic portrayal of the spurned princess. Sherrill Milnes is a great Rodrigo; however, I think Piero Cappuccilli, with the more purely beautiful voice, would have made a better impression in the double aria from Act 4, Scene 2. Giovanni Foiani is not steady and weighty enough as the Grand Inquisitor, which means that his powerful confrontation with Raimondi's Filippo is unbalanced, with Raimondi sounding much more powerful and less weak and vulnerable than he should. Simon Estes is good as the mysterious Monk. All told, this recording is not flawless, but in such a long, complex and intense opera, it is almost impossible to have a flawless recording. This is the recommended recording for everyone.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A warm and balanced Don Carlo recording, July 12, 2004
By A Customer
This review is from: Verdi: Don Carlos (Audio CD)
This is one of Guilini's most famous Verdi recordings. His starry cast demonstrates no serious flaws and all its members were at the peak of their powers in the early 70s. The two Spaniards, Domingo and Caballe stand out. He gives one of his best performances on disc in a role that suits him well. Domingo phrases wonderfully while the firmness and power of his voice make a most convincing regal Don Carlo. The characterization regal also perfectly describes Caballe's Elisabetta. Her big and gorgeous voice fills the recording with grandness. There have been other more involved Elisabettas but none as sumptuous as Montserrat. As one critic put it "her Elisabetta is a creature taken from stained-glass windows (vitro)". Verrett's Eboli is perhaps her greatest Verdi achievement. Her voice never really appealed to me but I recognize her talent and stunning performance. Simionato and Baltsa are the ones I prefer. The lower male voices are fine but never exceptional as on other sets. I have similar feelings for Milnes as I do for Verrett; He usually does a good job both vocally and dramatically but the voice itself is rather unpleasant, bland. Compare him to Cappuccilli or Bastiannini and you will know what I mean. Raimondi has one of the most handsome bass-baritone voices but this role was a bit too low for him; his great phrasing is a plus though. Foiani is an adequate Inquisitor but again not an unforgettable one. My only real complaint about this Don Carlos is that it is not as exciting as other recordings of this opera. Solti for example, created a more interesting Don Carlo despite his uneven cast. Karajan suffocated his singers with his orchestra but again the result is brisk. Overall however Guilini's Don Carlo remains a superb achievement!
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