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Audiophile Audition, October 27, 2014
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Steven Ritter |
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VERDI: Don Carlo |
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Kaufmann and company do the 2013
Salzburg Festival proud. |
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As
you can see from the title, this is one of the five Italian versions
Verdi made of this, his longest and most tortured of all his operas
revision-wise. The original Don Carlo was of course in French, and later
“trimmed” to four acts in Italian, though critical consensus seems to
stay with the five. Strangely enough, the French had all kinds of
problems with the work, even to the point of making unauthorized cuts
and changes after the premiere. And the Italian version, translated very
early on, appeared first not in Italy but in London!
The
undertaking of this score is such a massive amount of work—and though
popular, always a risk with audiences—that one can only applaud the 2013
Salzburg Festival for mounting Peter Stein’s sparse but very effective
and traditionally-clothed production. Antonio Pappano, a fixture at the
festival, conducts his third (I believe, unless I missed one) DVD of
this piece, a fairly remarkable thing in and of itself, and demonstrates
a firm and committed mastery of the opera. The cast, as most casts of
this opera, has strengths and weaknesses. Some have complained about
Thomas Hampson’s decline; aside from the natural and expected losses of
dexterity in the voice, I find him to be quite solid here. In fact, this
extraordinary singer’s acting abilities are brought to the fore in his
role as Carlo’s foil Rodrigo, and Hampson, knowing his own abilities and
where he is at in his career, manages his vocal prowess adroitly.
Matti Salminen is undergoing a similar stage of life issue, but
vocally he is fine—it’s his portrayal that seems a little ho-hum during
parts of this opera, but he does rise to the occasion when needed. One
might think also that Anja Harteros is a little old for this role in
terms of the youth of Elisabetta, but she looks terrific and shows that
she does indeed have the ability to match Verdi’s sometimes strenuous
requirements.
The tenor of the decade is without question Jonas
Kaufman, and though he has critics who seem more intent on concentrating
on what he cannot do as opposed to mentioning how many tenors there are
who don’t even come near to matching his skillset, this playing of the
role of the tormented Infante should silence most. Kaufmann is
wondrously adept at the part, bringing lyrical propensities and
highly-developed acting to the performance that serves as the golden
thread on which this production hangs. Need I say that the Vienna
Philharmonic plays splendidly? An outstanding release!
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