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Daily Express, May 7, 2013 |
By: William Hartston |
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Verdi: Don Carlo, Royal Opera House London, 4. Mai 2013 |
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Opera review: Don Carlo, Royal Opera House ***** |
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VERDI took 20 years to get this opera right.
From its first
performance in 1867 to its fourth and final version in 1886, it went through
several major rewrites, with its language changing from French to Italian
and its title from Don Carlos to Don Carlo.
By contrast, the Royal
Opera House has taken only five years and three attempts to get the best out
of Nicholas Hytner's production of the opera, and the result is quite
magnificent.
The tale is one of conflict: political conflict;
religious conflict; emotional conflict; and conflict of loyalties.
The Spanish prince Don Carlos is in love with Elizabeth of Valois and
believes their marriage will end the long conflict between Spain and France.
However, his dad, King Philip II has another idea: he'll cement the union
between the two countries by marrying Elizabeth himself.
Don Carlos's
loyal friend Rodrigo, Marquis of Posa, does his best to help and advise,
while the Grand Inquisitor pops up occasionally to threaten everyone with
the wrath of God and burn at the stake anyone who dares disagree with him.
All you need for a fine production of this opera is a magnificent tenor
with a powerful yet mellow voice to portray Don Carlos's suffering, a superb
soprano to play the part of the noble Elizabeth, a strong-voiced baritone as
Rodrigo, two commanding bass voices as Philip II and the Grand Inquisitor,
and a conductor who really understands Verdi's music.
The current
production at Covent Garden fulfils this recipe perfectly, with the five
leading singers giving performances any one of which would on its own have
made this worth seeing. Seeing all of them together produces one of those
blissful Covent Garden evenings when it feels a privilege to be there.
First, there is Jonas Kaufmann in this title role.
The
voice of this German tenor is one of the wonders of the modern world.
Combining a wondrously mellow tone with huge, apparently effortless power
and control, he is always a joy to see and hear. On this occasion, however,
he was almost outdone by his co-stars.
The Polish baritone
Mariusz Kwiecien has been very impressive in previous roles at the Royal
Opera, but as Rodrigo was quite outstanding. His voice is strong, confident
and pure in tone and is quite riveting to listen to.
Perhaps even
more commanding of attention was German soprano Anja Harteros as Elizabeth
of Valois.
She is without doubt one of the great sopranos of today,
and the dramatic demands of this role show off her voice perfectly.
Add Ferruccio Furlanetto as the commandeering yet inwardly anguished Philip
II and Eric Halfvarson as a blind and doddering, yet sadistic and dominant
Grand Inquisitor, and have it all conducted by Antonio Pappano, with his
impeccable knack of perfectly blending the orchestral sound with the
singing, and it all adds up to a perfect night.
Opera does not come
much better than this. The Royal Opera and the director of this revival,
Paul Higgins, are to be congratulated on a faultless production.
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