Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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46 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
ALL- STAR MET DON CARLO NOT TO BE BEATEN, August 7, 2001
This video, originally released in 1984 on Laserdisc and scheduled for DVD release on Aug. 21, 2001 is a must-have for any serious opera collector. Where, today, could you find a cast of this calibre: Freni, Domingo, Bumbry, Quilico, Ghiaurov and Furlanetto, conducted by James Levine? The sets are austere yet atmospheric and the costumes are beautiful and of the correct period -- a quality rarely seen in today's opera houses. The performance from March 1983 finds all the singers in fine voice. Freni, Domingo (even with a crack or two), Ghiaurov and Furlanetto are not to be faulted. Miss Bumbry's tendency to sharp slightly and in some instances distance herself from the music (you can see the technical gears working) and Mr. Quilico's blustery manner are small flaws that once gotten used to, seem to fade into the background of this generally outstanding document. Mr. Levine'a authoritative, stylish and energetic conducting coaxes an exciting performance out of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and David Stivender's chorus. This is a live performance so sometimes a microphone may pick up a violin or a soprano or tenor chorister's voice a little too accurately, but again -- that is a small price to pay for this calibre of performance. This DVD is heartily recommended and will hold it's place for a long time to come as THE video DON CARLO to have. Also, the DVD quality of this performance is to be looked forward to because of the flawed pressings on the Pioneer Laserdics when they were originally released. Bravo, Pioneer for making this DON CARLO availabale, finally, on DVD!
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23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Performance Envy, January 17, 2002
Watching this production on DVD is bittersweet only because you realize that to have seen it in the Met live must have been one of those rare and exceptional performances everyone wishes they experienced. The singing and acting of all of the principal singers is superlative, with top billing going to Freni, Bumbry, Ghiaurov and Domingo. The strength, drama and beauty of Freni's portrayal as Elisabetta here in the duets, arias and in the auto da fe is not to be missed. She is well paired with Domingo who gives a equally exceptional singing and dramatic performance. The strength of the other cast members, orchestra, the direction of James Levine and the chorus all enhance this performance.I wish the DVD had more bonus features and had more detailed chapter selection so that you are able to maneuver through the DVD to specific parts of any Act but these are only minor drawbacks given the overall strong performance. If you find that you are listening to only one or two CDs of the full audio recording of this opera at any given time, you will have quite a different experience to this DVD. Once it goes into your DVD player, you will be mesmerized from start to finish and find yourself applauding and yelling "Bravi!" along with the audience in the end. A worthwhile investment for any music lover.
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32 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Verdi's opera of love and politics, April 26, 2005
Under the sensitive direction of James Levine, Placido Domingo plays Don Carlo, heir to the Spanish throne, as close to the edge of madness. I think this interpretation works much better than playing him as Schiller's romantic hero--plus it's more accurate, since the historical Don Carlo was reputedly insane.
Levine's production is a majestic, somber interpretation of Verdi at his most Spanish, and is visually gorgeous.
This 1983 Metropolitan Opera "Don Carlo" is also one of the best cast (except for Louis Quilico as Rodrigo), and most haunting of all my Met Verdi DVDs. Mirella Freni has been criticized as not having a 'big enough' voice for the role of Elisabeth de Valois, but I think she is perfect: regal, beautiful, sweetly sorrowful. Her duet with Domingo in the oft-omitted Fountainbleu scene has a tremulous delicacy, made all the more poignant because we know her page is about to show up and tell her that she must marry Phillip II, not Don Carlo with whom she has just fallen in love.
Even though Sam Ramey is my favorite Phillip II, voice-wise (in Ricardo Muti's 1992 La Scala production), Nicolai Ghiaurov is perfect as the ruthless, morbidly Catholic tyrant. When he first appears on camera, I thought, "My god, that man IS Phillip II." What an eerie resemblance. He even sings with a Castillan lisp. Ghiaurov commands the stage, whether he is bullying his somewhat wimpy son, tormenting his sorrowful queen, or bargaining with the evil Grand Inquisitor (Ferruccio Furlanetto). When he sings his Act IV aria, "Ella giamma m'amo," his introspective interpretation rounds out his character, not as a haughty king, but as a suffering older husband who knows his beautiful young Queen will never love him.
Grace Bumbry is a haughty, calculating, technically gorgeous Princess Eboli, right down to her historically correct eye-patch. I didn't find her seductive--becoming King Phillip's mistress seemed to be a business transaction for her. She was a little too cold to really convince me that she had a change of heart about the Queen in the Act IV study scene, but Bumbry absolutely rips the 'Veil Song' in the garden. I've never heard it sung better. Her aria of repentance, "O don fatale," was the perfect cap to her character, and deserved its long ovation.
What a performance! Ghiaurov IS the King. Freni IS the Queen. Domingo IS Don Carlo. The only casting mistake was Quilico's blustering, smirking Rodrigo. I could not understand what Don Carlo or the King ever saw in his character. Plus he sounded strained and tinny, especially in the duets with Domingo. I understand this was one of Quilico's break-through roles back in the 1960's, but he does not adorn this otherwise marvelous performance.
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