Verdi - Don Carlo / von Karajan, Carreras, Baltsa, Furlanetto, d'Amico, Cappuccilli, Salminen, Salzburg

Rating:
Summary: Interesting, occasionally tuneful
Review: I was during the first hour or so tempted to call this opera an archaic bore, vast stretches of tedium broken only by the rare appearance of a plodding warhorse of an aria anthologized so often I could hum along with it. But it improved, tunewise. It was not ALL Wagner. The veil song was indeed and inexplicably halved, as the only other reviewer of this item pointed out. However I did not see in Baltsa (whom I like) another Callas, fire-breathing or otherwise. And Elisabetta's voice (particularly in Tu che le vanita (there now, I mentioned an aria, a bit of red meat for the erudite) her big number) was very slight and lacking in force. Other than that, it was a very pretty voice and I thought she used it nicely. The staging was wooden and melodramatic, characters struck poses to end scenes, which I kind of liked, it gave a nicely old fashioned, period piece flavor to the opera that I liked. I have the original French version on DVD, but I was so truly bored after an hour and 20 minutes, that I shut it off. Maybe, since I liked this version and also have and like the CD set of it (also with Karajan, Carreras and Baltsa), I'll take another crack at it. Better than wasting all that money before giving it a 2nd chance. Incidentally, the price of this DVD (the one I'm writing about) is a steal, I don't remember what I paid for mine, but for the music and the price, I recommend it. Finally I want only to say that the story is good (if you like to watch christians burning heretics), it was a joy to see Karajan smile during his curtain call, and everyone sang beautifully, although d'Amico's voice (Elisabetta) was though pleasant a little weak.

Rating:
Summary: Karajan's Don Carlos - well worth having.
Review: This is DVD of a 1986 Salzburg Easter Festival live performance
and as such it has all the excitement and sense of occasion of a
real thatrical experience. Karajan, of course, controls the whole production, being his festival. The Berlin Philharmonic in the orchestra pit is something few recordings of this opera can compete with. Karajan conducts without a score in his usual transcendental manner. The total effect is crisp, powerful, dynamic, precise, tightly controlled and well detailed. His approach works especially well in the powerful climaxes, dramatic exchanges and the great assembly scenes. The finale of Act 2 (the Auto da fe scene) is superb.
The singers are what makes this performance so extraordinary and
memorable. The opera requires six top quality singers. Karajan,of course,hand picked them for the roles, using some of his perennial favourites and some newcomers.Agnes Baltsa and Jose Carreras plus Piero Cappuccilli are some of the perennials.
They are beyond praise. Baltsa probably "steals the show" with her wonderful voice and fire-eating, Callas -like dramatic and
emotional acting ability.Carreras, Karajan's favourite tenor, uses his voice articulately and with great inspiration. Cappuccilli,one of the great Italian lyric baritones of our time,
as Rodrigo, truly shines.
Ferruccio Furlanetto creates a deeply moving portrayal of Philip II. His great aria in the third act and subsequent exchange with the Grand Inquisitor are Verdi at his best and Furlanetto does great justice to it. Matti Salminen, the great Finnish basso, has
a stentorian voice and mighty presence-thoroughly frightening as the Inquisitor.
Finally, as the Queen, Fiamma Ozzo d'Amico, relatively lesser known, a young Italian spinto soprano, is equally at home in the
lyrical parts, but fully capable of dramatic outbursts. A beautiful woman, certainly looks the part. In her final duet with Carlo one can almost feel sparks flying between the two and
understand why the two were in love with each other.
Important note: This is the four act version, which has been used
successfully for over a hundred years. There are some minor cuts Karajan makes for the performance. E.g. Eboli's Song of the Veil is chopped in half, quite inexplicably-this way the song is incomplete and makes no sense at all! The CD set, however, is complete.
Not everybody likes Karajan. I personally prefer Giulini's more fluid and graceful style which gave him such resounding success in London. However, there is no video of Giulini that I know of.
Nevertheless, I can sincerely recommend this DVD, it will give
ample satisfaction. It comes on one disc, handsomely packaged with a well detailed booklet. The sound is first rate.

Rating:
Summary: Verdi Devotee
Review: This is the fourth DVD version of this opera that I own. I have played this version just the once and will never watch it again. So many cuts, so sad, so arrogant.