Don Carlo is one of Verdi's finest, musically and dramatically, and while this 2013 Salzburg production is not a first choice(in a DVD production where the only bad one is the 2005 Peter Konwitschny production with Ramon Vargas) it is a very good one and mostly serves the opera quite well. The high points are definitely the orchestra, chorus and Antonio Pappano's conducting. The orchestra sounds phenomenal, not just for festival level but full stop, the orchestral textures, ravishing and forceful tone, the amount of power and control as well as the nuances make for some of the best orchestral playing of any opera production I've heard in some time. Highlights were the expertly played cello solo in Act 4, the never-ending intensity heard in the big Grand Inquisitor/Phillip duet, the sensitivity heard in Tu Che La Vanita and that you really feel the sting accompanying Eboli's greatest sin confession and following Posa's outburst in the confrontation between him and Phillip. The chorus throughout are first rate not only vocally with the sonorous male voices with the floating gleams heard with the female voices but they are always involved in the drama. And you can tell that Pappano has experience conducting Don Carlo, having conducted the 1996 and 2008 DVD performances, and this is perhaps his most inspired of the three, he is always authoritative and very sympathetic to his singers while never making the dramatic and musical drama sound leaden. His attention to musicianship and phrasing is masterly, and on DVD has only been done better with James Levine.
Generally fine also was the staging, with everything proficient and nothing really distasteful. For me there was only one questionable touch, which was the idea to have the ladies-in-waiting still visible and chatting to one another during the confrontation between Carlo and Elisabetta, a touch that was distracting and made absolutely no sense considering what the confrontation is all about. That out of the way, the crucial scenes are well-staged, especially the garden scene, the scenes between Eboli and Elisabetta and the confrontation between Posa and Phillip. The Grand Inquisitor scene is appropriately clash-of-the-titans-like as well. What were really surprising were the additional touches. The inclusion of showing the costume exchange between Elisabetta and Eboli was a masterstroke and made Carlo's confusion in the Carlo/Eboli rendez-vous far more believable than a lot of other production of Don Carlo.
Of the performances, top marks go to Jonas Kaufmann. There were initial reservations, despite loving his voice and considering him one of the best tenors around today I did worry about the role of Don Carlo being too heavy for Kaufmann. That didn't sound the case here because he sounds resplendent vocally with heavenly soft singing, liquid musicality and tone as smooth as chocolate with great baritonal warmth. Dramatically he is one of the best Carlos on DVD as well, he is never stand-and-sing like Pavarotti or frenzied like Villazon but his interpretation is genuinely intense with some quite bold touches in the garden scene with an ardent touch as well. Anja Harteros is a poised, dignified and poignant Elisabetta and along with Kaufmann she provides the production's best and most consistent singing with musicianship just as grand as her stage presence and her voice as beautiful as it is powerful. Ekaterina Semenchuk's a little too careful in the Veil Song(not uncommon with mezzos performing Eboli) but her O Don Fatale is heartfelt and shows off her firm rich voice better. Her stage presence is regal and alluring, and the character's vindictiveness and spit-fire personality is certainly here.
Thomas Hampson has seen better days vocally with the odd occasion where he sounds he's over-singing, and there will be those who will go on about his voice not being "conventional Verdi baritone". There is evidence of beauty of tone though especially in his death scene in his scenes with Carlo- he blends beautifully with Kaufmann in the friendship duet- and from an acting point of view he is spot-on as is perhaps the most interesting character of the opera apart from Phillip, the loyalty, firmness, dignity and sympathetic traits pitched with no problem. Eric Halvarson is truly terrifying as the Grand Inquisitor even if his voice is a little woolly at times, especially at the top end of the voice. Robert Lloyd is excellent and Benjamin Berheim is as good a Harald/Count Lerma you'll get anywhere. Was less enthused with Matti Salminen as Phillip(he is a much better Inquisitor), hats off to him for singing this pushing 70 but his voice has (understandably) lost a lot of its richness, some of the bottom is dry and the top at times is strained. Dramatically this is not one of Salminen's most inspired performances, when Phillip is supposed to be intimidating Salminen does that quite well, though he does come across as too much of a bully in Act 4, but in scenes like Ella Giammai M'ammo a softer and more nuanced approach was much needed.
What let the production down most were the production values, apart from the lighting which was very expressive and the beginning of Act 2 set which was striking. Everything just looks really sparse and colourless, and you are never really sure what the time and place is(though not quite as badly as the Konwitschny production). The costumes are a little better, they at least look nice, if still a bit of a hodge-podge. Overall though apart from a few weak spots this Don Carlo is very good. 7.5/10 Bethany Cox
Generally fine also was the staging, with everything proficient and nothing really distasteful. For me there was only one questionable touch, which was the idea to have the ladies-in-waiting still visible and chatting to one another during the confrontation between Carlo and Elisabetta, a touch that was distracting and made absolutely no sense considering what the confrontation is all about. That out of the way, the crucial scenes are well-staged, especially the garden scene, the scenes between Eboli and Elisabetta and the confrontation between Posa and Phillip. The Grand Inquisitor scene is appropriately clash-of-the-titans-like as well. What were really surprising were the additional touches. The inclusion of showing the costume exchange between Elisabetta and Eboli was a masterstroke and made Carlo's confusion in the Carlo/Eboli rendez-vous far more believable than a lot of other production of Don Carlo.
Of the performances, top marks go to Jonas Kaufmann. There were initial reservations, despite loving his voice and considering him one of the best tenors around today I did worry about the role of Don Carlo being too heavy for Kaufmann. That didn't sound the case here because he sounds resplendent vocally with heavenly soft singing, liquid musicality and tone as smooth as chocolate with great baritonal warmth. Dramatically he is one of the best Carlos on DVD as well, he is never stand-and-sing like Pavarotti or frenzied like Villazon but his interpretation is genuinely intense with some quite bold touches in the garden scene with an ardent touch as well. Anja Harteros is a poised, dignified and poignant Elisabetta and along with Kaufmann she provides the production's best and most consistent singing with musicianship just as grand as her stage presence and her voice as beautiful as it is powerful. Ekaterina Semenchuk's a little too careful in the Veil Song(not uncommon with mezzos performing Eboli) but her O Don Fatale is heartfelt and shows off her firm rich voice better. Her stage presence is regal and alluring, and the character's vindictiveness and spit-fire personality is certainly here.
Thomas Hampson has seen better days vocally with the odd occasion where he sounds he's over-singing, and there will be those who will go on about his voice not being "conventional Verdi baritone". There is evidence of beauty of tone though especially in his death scene in his scenes with Carlo- he blends beautifully with Kaufmann in the friendship duet- and from an acting point of view he is spot-on as is perhaps the most interesting character of the opera apart from Phillip, the loyalty, firmness, dignity and sympathetic traits pitched with no problem. Eric Halvarson is truly terrifying as the Grand Inquisitor even if his voice is a little woolly at times, especially at the top end of the voice. Robert Lloyd is excellent and Benjamin Berheim is as good a Harald/Count Lerma you'll get anywhere. Was less enthused with Matti Salminen as Phillip(he is a much better Inquisitor), hats off to him for singing this pushing 70 but his voice has (understandably) lost a lot of its richness, some of the bottom is dry and the top at times is strained. Dramatically this is not one of Salminen's most inspired performances, when Phillip is supposed to be intimidating Salminen does that quite well, though he does come across as too much of a bully in Act 4, but in scenes like Ella Giammai M'ammo a softer and more nuanced approach was much needed.
What let the production down most were the production values, apart from the lighting which was very expressive and the beginning of Act 2 set which was striking. Everything just looks really sparse and colourless, and you are never really sure what the time and place is(though not quite as badly as the Konwitschny production). The costumes are a little better, they at least look nice, if still a bit of a hodge-podge. Overall though apart from a few weak spots this Don Carlo is very good. 7.5/10 Bethany Cox
