Deceiving
Osvaldo Colarusso | Curitiba, Paraná Brazil | 03/12/2004
(2 out of 5 stars)
"Deceiving Naxos has some excellents opera records: Albert Herring, The Turn of Screw, Fidelio, The Flying Dutchman, The King Roger, and more recently one outstanding Wozzeck. I bought this Don Carlos for some reasons. First of all the soprano Hillevi Martinpelto. Her recordings of Idomeneo ( the role of Elektra)and Leonore( in Beethoven's opera) with John Eliot Gardiner are very good. She doesn't sing Elizabeth at the same level of these precedent recordings, but this wasn't the greatest deception. The mezzo Ingrid Tobiasson was in a really very bad day. Her "O Don Fatale " is a disaster.Her high C b sounds like a scream. Deceiving too is the tenor Lars Cleveman. He has no voice for this role. Good surprises: The baritone Peter Mattei is excellent, and the bass Jaako Ryhänen as The King has good moments too. The great bass Bengt Rundgren , once a great wagnerian Bass ,despite some bad moments,is Dramatically convincing as the Inquisitor. The Orchestra and the chorus are excellent, and the conductor is very firm . But in general I feel a lack of profundity in the musical direction. One positive thing about this record: the choice of a very complete Five Act version. But if you want to hear this wonderful music without sufferings, go to Giulini or Solti, the best versions of the Five Act Version of the best "French Opera" by Verdi. Naxos is a label with a growing prestige. One issue like this is far to contribute for the label's reputation."
Nice Don for Verdi lovers
DILLON L HAYNES | MILFORD, OH United States | 10/25/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This LIVE recording from the 99-00 season at Royal Swedish Opera, is mainly cast with unknown swedish singers. Don't let their unknown names fool you, this cast produce some lovely singing. Be warned that if you already have some of the top notch Don's such as Sotli (Decca) or Karajan (EMI) this recording will never live up to those standards. Please don't compair Bergonzi to Cleveman! or Telbaldi to Martinpelto! They just come up very short. That said I listened to Tu che la vanita about 4 times back to back.. it is lovely! There are moments that fall short as in any live recording... mostly I found the Eboli of Tobiasson the least at home in Verdis dark score. The recored sound is very good, but again did I mention it is live? So you do hear stage noice and such, but it is never TOO distracting! Hope that you enjoy this recording, I have already listened to it 2x and I am headed back for a 3rd."
Good but not great night at the opera
Mr JB | Karlskrona Sweden | 02/17/2005
(3 out of 5 stars)
"This is the almost complete score of Don Carlos with five acts, and therefor one would expect it to be performed in french, it is here performed in italian, however. I really see no reason for this.
The performance, then? Well, the drama surely is there, except maybe for the first act, but in my opinion that's more Verdi's fault than this productions'. The leading singers are generally good, especially so the darker male voices, where Mattei as Posa is world class, both moving and firm and beautiful sounding. The last two of those compliments can also be said of Jaako Ryhänen's King, although his theatrical abilities are not as strong as Mattei's. As the troubled love couple, both Cleveman and Martinpelto sings nicely but their voices are generally too small for an opera of this impact. Tobiasson (Eboli) was not at her best on the night of this recording, nor was most of the supporting roles. The conducting is a little foursquared, but at least focused. Swedish choruses almost always are very good, and this is no exception.
Furthermore, this is a live recording with a little boxy sound and some applause - I dont think it would have been that much more expensive to make it in the studio. For although Martinpelto, Mattei, Ryhänen and Rundgren have international (recording) careers, the rest of the cast is not so known swedish singers. And a studio performance with a liveexperienced cast (as this is) surely would have fared better. Or, Naxos could have waited a while, for now the same production is running again, but with a partially different, and more consistently wellsounding, cast.
All in all a fair recording of a good but not great night at the opera, of a work that still has some better overall rivals in the catalogue - My favorite is Karajan's violent reading with an all through world class cast headed by a young Carreras in the title role."
Track Listings (26) - Disc #1