Greece Hotels Travel - Verdi: Don Carlo
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List Price: $32.98
greece-hotels-travel.com Price: $20.97
Your Save: $ 12.01 ( 36% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: EMI Classics
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0077776930428
Label: EMI Classics
Manufacturer: EMI Classics
Number Of Discs: 3
Publisher: EMI Classics
Release Date: 1990-10-25
Studio: EMI Classics
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Related Items
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- Verdi - Simon Boccanegra / Freni, Cappuccilli, Carreras, Ghiaurov, van Dam, Foiani, Teatro alla Scala, Abbado
- Verdi - Otello / Plácido Domingo, Scotto, Milnes, Levine
- Verdi - Aida / Freni · Carreras · Baltsa · Cappuccilli · Raimondi · van Dam · Ricciarelli · Moser · Wiener Phil. · Karajan
- Verdi - Don Carlo (remastered)
- Verdi: Don Carlos
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: El Don Carlos de Karajan
Comment: Cuando Leonard Bernstein escucho esta versión de Don Carlos en discos (en aquella época LPs), le gusto tanto que expresamente mando una carta a Karajan para felicitarlo por lo que a su juicio era la mejor versión de la Opera. Opinión que comparto plenamente con Lenny.
Customer Rating:
Summary: let us hear the singers !!!
Comment: A good cast but inaudible because of Karajan's megalomania. The sound, very loud, seems more appropriate for Bruckner or Wagner, than for Verdi. Some orchestral piece or some aria like Elisabetta's "tu che le vanità" are interesting in Karajan record, but Verdi is often unrecognizable. I bought the Giulini version (EMI, 1970) then and I discover Don Carlos. I apologize for my bad english.
Customer Rating:
Summary: If you had to have just one...
Comment: It is almost impossible for an opera collector to own only one recording of Verdi's tragedy Don Carlo. The Carlo Maria Giulini rendering of the five-act Italian version with Plácido Domingo, Montserrat Caballé, Ruggero Raimondi, and Sherrill Milnes is a fine, panoramic work from EMI; Sir Georg Solti produced a similar recording for Decca with Carlo Bergonzi, Renata Tebaldi, Nicolai Ghiaurov, and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. However, this 1979 recording of the four-act Italian version with Herbert von Karajan at the helm of the Berlin Philharmonic is worth notice, if only for the wondrous cast.
Don Carlo, like most Verdi tenor roles, may be more appropriate for a larger voice. José Carreras was Karajan's favorite tenor of his later period and this same favoritism which led Carreras to a lukewarm performance as Radamès also produced this hearty and dramatically compelling depiction of the doomed Spanish Infante. He is appropriately agitated and distressed during his Act I remembrance ("Io l'ho perduta!") and is thrillingly ecstatic in his Act II duet with Baltsa ("`A mezzanotte, ai giardin della Regina'" ... "Ciel! Non è la Regina!"). Karajan once remarked that if he had been born a singer, he would have been born Mirella Freni. Her couplings with Karajan crafted masterful performances of Mimì, Madama Butterfly, Aida, and Desdemona, and this performance as Elisabetta di Valois is no less miraculous. Freni is a veritable dove during her tortured Act IV aria "Tu che le vanità" and the glum closing duet "Ma lassù ci vedremo" with Carreras (who is here, for the first time in the entire recording, somewhat fatigued and withdrawn).
Agnes Baltsa is, for obvious reasons, not as appropriate for the role of the exotic Princess Eboli as Shirley Verrett or Grace Bumbry. Nonetheless, the Greek diva provides a sensuous performance as the deceived courtesan; she always boasted an electrically-charged collaboration with Karajan at the helm, as is audible by her ravenous performance of the "Song of the Veil." Piero Cappuccilli gives one of his most excellent performances as Rodrigo, Marchese di Posa, and he easily bests Eberhard Wächter, Sherrill Milnes, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, and even Tito Gobbi. He harmonizes pleasurably with Carreras in their Act I duet ("Dio, che nell'alma infondere amor"), and is also excellent with Freni and Baltsa in the delightful, Verdian trio ("Che mai si fa nel suol francese" ... "Carlo ch'è sol il nostro amore"); however, he is most effective with Ghiaurov in Act II ("O Signor, di Fiandra arrivo") and in his impassioned Act III aria "Per me giunto è il dì supremo."
Nicolai Ghiaurov gives a disappointingly restrained performance as Filippo II. He is not the Spanish tyrant of his younger days; he is regretful and stricken with an ineffable fear of loneliness and death. He is a sad Filippo, rather than a thunderous one. Karajan's rather quick pacing also forces Ghiaurov to sound winded, especially during the Act II scene before the crowd ("Nel posar sul mio capo la corona"). The archetypal Verdi aria "Ella giammai m'amo" also suffers from a hasty tempo and Ghiaurov's implacable unwillingness to commit.
However, Ruggero Raimondi gives a memorable performance as the Grand Inquisitor. Raimondi is no Martti Talvela, thus he is not as ferocious and barbaric as the greatest Inquisitor-General. He is slimily deceitful and uses his slithery bass-baritone voice to project a decrepit old zealot. This coincides dramatically with Ghiaurov's perplexed, defeated old Filippo. Their duet ("Son io dinanzi al Re?"..."Nell'ispano suol") may not be as explosive as others', but it is claustrophobically constricted, and it produces an air of frenzied tension. Nonetheless, it would have been appropriate, given the time of the recording, for Ghiaurov and Raimondi to switch roles. (This was accomplished successfully with Claudio Abbado's subsequent recording of the five-act French version of the opera, with Plácido Domingo, Katia Ricciarelli, Lucia Valentini Terrani, and Leo Nucci.)
José van Dam produces a spine-tingling air of unease as the ghoulish Friar in Act I and Act IV. His performance in the former ("Ei voleva regnare sul mondo") seems to diffuse out of the whispers of the chorus. His closing lines during the explosive Act IV finale ("Il duolo della terra") are accentuated by three soul-shattering eruptions from the gong, a tribute to Karajan's meticulous eye for detail. Edita Gruberova provides a sweet sound for the tiny role of the page, Tebaldo. A Königin der Nacht in such a minor role provides little more than marquee value; this is hammy casting at its finest. Barbara Hendricks, much like Gruberova, provides superstar quality to a role generally left for smaller voices; the divine soprano is gorgeous as the soaring Voice from Heaven.
The recording's major flaw is the sound quality. The majestic choruses of the opera are rarely present or majestic. The charming chorus of the Spanish noblewomen in the garden ("Sotto ai folti, immensi abeti"); the opening of Act II with the populace of Madrid ("Spuntato ecco ildi d'estultanza"); and the following hisses of the monks of the Inquisition ("Il dì spuntò, dì del terrore") are almost inaudible over the orchestra. (One cannot be certain whether the poor mastering of Walter Hagen-Groll or the egotism of Karajan is to blame.) However, this is a minor hindrance to an otherwise superb and extremely atmospheric recording.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A Stunningly Dramatic Don Carlo
Comment: This 1970's recording serves a high-quality alternative to the far more popular EMI Legendary Recording conducted by Carlo Maria Giulini and starring Placido Domingo, Montserrat Caballe, Ruggero Raimondi, Sherill Milnes and Shirley Verrett, which is doubtless the most beautifully sung. This recording, however, is not only virtuosically sung but moreover dramatically rendered. This is the revised Italian version and the singers are in top shape and captured in their prime. It stars tenor Jose Carreras as the eponymous Spanish hero (and it helps that Jose is himself a Spaniard), the beautiful Italian lyric soprano Mirella Freni as the Queen Elisabeth Di Valois, dramatic mezzo soprano Agnes Baltsa as her rival Princess Eboli, the great bass Nicolai Ghiurov as the Inquisitor, baritone Piero Cappuccilli as King Phillip, and in minor roles Jose Van Dam and Edita Gruberova. It's an all-star cast folks! And each contribute individual greatness to this most dramatic of all Don Carlos recordings.
Rather than going on and on I will try to cut to the chase by pointing out the highlights. First of all, Jose Carreras' Don Carlo is an entirely different animal from Placido Domingo's. Domingo sings with utmost confidence. His is a secure and sensuous voice. Carreras, on the other hand, adds a new dimension to the character- passion masking his true insecurity. Carrerras was a modest man and his singing depicts heroes that are genuinely heroic but who struggle against themselves to believe in their own potential. His voice, is of course, perfectly suited to the Verdi music. Carreras is especially striking in the following scenas - Act 1's "Dio che ne'll alma" and his Fontainebleau Scene, his duets with Rodrigo are terrific, and the final act is spiritually uplifting. If only they had cast Katia Ricciarelli as Queen Elisabeth Di Valois, for her voice was gorgeous next to Carrreras' own tenor voce! Ricciarelli/Carrerras duets were nectars of the gods because these two were lovers and the music they make was passionate and inspirational. But I'm a fan of Mirella Freni and here she is singing a role that suits her like a glove. It is a lyric-spinto role but since she is a full lyric soprano without the shrill of coloratura sopranos or the growliness of a mezzo soprano. But the tessitura of the role presents no difficulty for her and she is a far better Elisabeth Di Valois than Tosca. This is her best work as far as singing a dramatic role. She is gorgeous in her Fountainebleau Scene, her duets with Carreras and her parts in ensembles and of course her "Tu Che La Vanita". Agnes Baltsa is a supremely dramatic Eboli, with a tigress-like demeanor, though she lacks the sexiness that such mezzos as Grace Bumbry and Shirley Verrett possessed. Baltsa makes up for this by singing a thrilling rendition of "O Don Fatale". Jose Van Dam and Edita Gruberova sing too beautifully for their minor parts. Van Dam's deep but character-driven bass voice is wonderful to hear on record and Gruberova's high coloratura voice is angelic. Piero Cappuccilli as the King is a revelation, and he sings this regal role with aplomb and I dare say much better than Sherill Milnes.
Terrific sound, awesome and electrifying singing and superbly performed music from the orchestral forces.Enough said! This is a Don Carlo that cannot be passed up.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Don Carlo - my first love
Comment: Don Carlo was actually my first encounter with opera ever. I heard José Carreras in "West Side Story" and was mesmerized by his voice. At that point I wasn't into opera, but I was so taken by his voice that as long as I could hear him sing it wouldn't matter what he was singing. So I went to the public library and asked for "anything that features José Carreras" and they came up with this Don Carlo recording.
I've heard people saying that they would not use Don Carlo as an introduction into opera - probably because it's a fairly long opera. To me that didn't matter the least. The longer the opera, the more I would hear of this fantastic voice. In the beginning I was stupid enough to think that I would just skip the arias not sung by Carreras.....!!?! But what happened was that I was so intrigued by the story and the voices that I listened straight through the entire opera several times. And at the same time I was also introduced to some of the finest opera singers in the world.
I just love Agnes Baltsa in the role as princess Eboli. The scene with Don Carlo in the queen's garden is wonderful. Her fury when she discovers that Don Carlo is in love with the queen instead of her (as she herself believed) is priceless. She's also giving us a fiery rendition of "O Don fatale".
The now late Piero Cappuccilli is a fantastic Rodrigo and one of my favourite opera singers. He possessed a very beautiful baritone and the scene where he visits Don Carlo in prison and also his death scene are very moving. His aria "Per me giunto e il di supreme" is beautiful beyond words. I'm almost expecting to hearing shouts of "bravo" and a round of applause after his rendition of this aria.
The wonderful basso Nicolai Ghaurov is really in command here. He's a king I personally wouldn't mess with.
Ruggero Raimondi is another favourite opera singer and he doesn't disappoint me here either. Always capable of spreading fear with his beautiful voice he is just perfect as the inquisitor.
Mirella Freni is a singer that I've come to like more and more. I prefer singers that are capable of involvement and emotion instead of just having a big voice. Freni gives a solid and moving performance throughout the entire opera. And her voice blends very well with Carreras's.
Carreras is perfect as Don Carlo if you ask me. He must be the sweetest sounding Don Carlo ever. In my opinion it's not enough singing the arias in this particular opera on full blast. The most important thing isn't how loud they can sing, but what they're doing with their voices; how capable they are of communicating with the listener, evoking emotions. In that respect José Carreras is unsurpassed. He's the "king of emotions" and he's pouring all his passion into this performance. The final aria "Ma lassu ci vedremo" with Carreras and Freni is a show-stopper; it's divine and almost sensual sounding. Just listen to Carreras' soft notes in this aria; out of this world and not to mention heart wrenching. It's those kind of notes (which he masters to the degree of perfection) that's destined to sending shivers down your spine and/or bring you to tears.
I love the conducting of Karajan. He creates great drama when needed, but when it comes to the scenes between the lovers no one can create such sweet and intimate moments in the music as he did.
Don Carlo was my first love in opera and so he holds a special place in my heart. In my opinion he is most definitely worth 5 stars.
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