Search - Giuseppe Verdi, Claudio Abbado, Plácido Domingo :: Verdi - Don Carlos / Domingo, Ricciarelli, Valentini-Terrani, Raimondi, Teatro alla Scala, Abbado

The Best Studio Recording Of Don Carlos

E. J. Van Sten | 03/23/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Verdi's Don Carlo is mostly performed in its Italian version, but its roots lie in 19th century Paris "Grand Opera" style, which for Verdi meant producing a showy, big stage spectacle with huge crowd scenes (the Spanish court, the auto-de-fe scene), choruses, a ballet (La Ballet De La Reine) and virtuosic arias for all the lead singers- tenor, soprano, baritone, mezzo-soprano and bass. This is the best existing studio recording of Don Carlos, thanks to the musicianship and master conducting of Claudio Abbado and his orchestral forces, Placido Domingo singing the hell out of Don Carlos, Katia Ricciarelli soars as Queen Elisabeth De Valois, Terazzi as a very scheming and jealous Princess Eboli, Ruggero Raimondi as King Phillip giving it is usual flair and the devilish bass Nicolai Ghiarouv makes a terrifying Grand Inquisitor. Claudio Abbado must be given credit for putting together these outstanding singers, who in addition can act with supreme dramatic integrity. This is the dream cast for Don Carlos, make no mistake.



Placido Domingo: He IS the melancholy idealistic Prince Don Carlos to the letter, note for note, embodying the spirit of the man vicariously in his Shakespearean dramatic prowess and his rich, lyric French voice. Domingo (to me) sang at his best in French!! Listen to other French roles of his and you'll see what I mean, pure gold!! (Gounod's Faust, Don Jose in Bizet's Carmen, Hoffman in Offenbach's Tales of Hoffman). Perhaps because Don Carlos is a Spanish character (if you really think about it) as is Don Jose in Carmen, and Domingo can indeed express his Spanish blood in his voice and mannered dramatic interpretations. He is every bit the noble and discreet revolutionary that is Don Carlos.



Katia Ricciarelli: Wow. She blew me away in the role of Queen Elisabeth of Valois. I have always enjoyed Mirella Freni as the Queen (her Italian is impeccable) but she falls victim to the sweet, "weak victim" mode and doesn't exude some of the Queen's inner passions. The poised and dignified Queen is actually quite a passionate and intense woman (like Dona Ana in Mozart's Don Giovanni) hiding a secret, hiding her love for her stepson Don Carlos while having to deal with being the ever faithful and subservient wife to King Phillip, trapped between the woman of public notoriety and private desire. Ricciarelli not only has a radiant high register and flowing lyric technique, but she can darken her voice, coloring it so we can clearly see the fire inside her. This is why lyric -spinto-dramatic voices suit the Queen, but very few sopranos can do this. Ricciarelli and Domingo (in duets and scenes) are of course quite thrilling to hear and see. They worked together in the 1986 Zefferelli film of Verdi's Otello, and they are on fire in that version.



Ruggero Raimondi: R.R. as I call him. He's not only one of the most colorful baritones, but a terrific actor. Raimondi also felt the acting bug and appeared in Jospeh Losey's film of Don Giovanni, this being his best role. Raimondi can definately get into character in any role. A baritone career is harder work than a tenor (any baritone or bass will tell you that) not just because there are only a few star roles for baritones (these voices are usually the villain or a father figure) but because a baritone, confined to the lower levels of the male singing voice, must also sound as dramatic and powerful as the tenor, with whom he inevitably collides with in duets. There are also many virtuosic, difficult arias written for baritones, whose character's psychologytend to be more complex and shadier than the purely heroic tenors. Raimondi has it all- a big top and generous bottom, and manages to sound masculine, grand, evil, good, and every color in the actor's palette. Here he plays the conflicted King Phillip who realizes leadership is the hardest responsibility.



(I don't have much to say abou the mezzo soprano Terrazi ? In the role of Princess Eboli. She is the weakest in the bunch and I would have enjoyed it if Shirley Verrett or Grace Bumbry were cast in this recording. Eboli is not just a mean, nasty, jealous bitch, she is a woman who, like the Queen, suffers. She is proud and dignified, also must keep her emotions in check, but burns with them anyhow. The voice must express this far more than the image of the villain).



And Finally Nicolai Ghiaurov. What more can one say about this incredible and powerful bass ? He conquered all the "devilish" roles in the bass arsenal- Faust, Boris Gudonov, Mephistopheles, and in this case, the Grand Inquisitor. Just listen to his dramatic entrance in the Auto De Fe scene and the wicked snarl in his voice. He is no good, despite hiding beneath the mantle of religion. Ghiaurov's voice is powerful, dark and mesmerizing. I am always hypnotized by his voice, far more than any other bass- Samuel Ramey actually sounds lovely more than he does evil, and can even "heal" one with his voice, as does Kurt Moll. Only a few basses have truly mastered the wicked men of opera- among these are Justino Diaz, Dietrich Fischer Dieskau and my favorite, Norman Treigle. Go and get this recording. Let it be your preferred choice for the French version of Don Carlos. The best Italian version is both the recording on (Great Recordings of the Century- with Domingo, Caballe, Verrett, Raimondi, and the staged performance captured on video/DVD at the Met in which Domingo stars opposite Mirella Freni."

Original French Don Carlos: The Best Studio Recording

Rudy Avila | Lennox, Ca United States | 11/06/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This 1980's Deutsche Grammophone recording has had favorable reviews here on Amazon.com and I don't think there's much more to add but I find that every time I listen to it, it gets better and better. The strength lies in the musicianship of the La Scala forces under Claudio Abbado's baton and the talented principal singers who have no difficulty singing in the original French and French grand opera style that Verdi originally composed for the Paris Opera. The most famous Don Carlo recording is, of course, the EMI 1970 recording under conductor Carlo Maria Giulini starring Placido Domingo, Montserrat Caballe, Sherill Milnes, Shirley Verrett and Ruggero Raimondi. That was the revised Italian version which is far more popular. Only Placido Domingo and Ruggero Raimondi are included in this later recording, though Montserrat Caballe was still capable of some dramatic singing in the 80's and could have also sung the role of Elisabeth in French. Katia Ricciarelli is however a marvelously gifted singer, despite detractors criticizing her for her lack of sturdy high notes and finding fault with what they believe is a voice that is only good from the middle register and downward. Ricciarelli delivers a beautiful, elegant and imperious Queen, and I love her voice. This is probably her finest achievement on recording. On the EMI 1970 Giulini recording, it was interesting to note how for an Italian opera the majority of the singers were non-Italians. On this recording, it is the other way around. The French-singing cast are Italian- Katia Ricciarelli, Luisa Valentini-Terrani and Ruggero Raimondi- and they are conducted by an Italian conductor Claudio Abbado and the La Scala orchestra. For a bunch of Italians, they master the art of French grand opera with aplomb.



Placido Domingo proves his versatility yet again by singing a heck of a Don Carlos in French when we know he is just as capable of singing the role in Italian. His French is sexy, seductive, elegant and exuding with the soulful passion of his Spanish persona. Domingo is my favorite tenor not only for the beauty and dramatic richness of his voice, but for the fact he is the only modern tenor to sing a variety of diverse roles. The ladies are singing superbly. Ricciarelli is simply splendid as the Queen, and she does justice to the part as great as Mirella Freni and Montserrat Caballe did. Alas, if only Leontyne Price had sung Queen Elisabeth Di Valois in its entirety! I think that would have been her best role, perhaps even surpassing her Leonora from Trovatore. Ruggero Raimondi returns to sing the role of King Phillip, though he had sung the Inquisitor in the 1970 Giulini recording. He has the right stuff for the role however. Russian bass Nicolai Ghiuruv is a devilishly frightening Inquisitor and handles the Verdi music with ease. Without a doubt this is the finest recording of Don Carlos you'll ever find in its original French."

The complete original French version - not rivalling the com

Abel | Hong Kong | 11/02/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Herbert von Karajan had never recorded the complete 5-Act version of Verdi's Don Carlo. His 1958 Salzburg recording was great in many respects, but it was in mono, and the worst bit of it - incomplete. Some conductors and most modern productions choose the abridged version by Verdi. However, for me at least, the Fontainbleau Act is essential to the opera as a whole.

For the complete versions, Domingo has at least three famous recordings: first one on CD under Giulini, with Caballe, Verrett, Milnes, Raimondi, Ghiaurov and others. Then a DVD version with Freni, Bumbry, Ghiaurov and others. This third set is on CD under Abbado and again Raimondi, but this time, with Katia Ricciarelli as Elisabetta, and this is the complete French version.

For Domingo himself, this one is the least attractive performance of him in the title role. The voice is surprisingly dry and unexpressive. The Rodrigo and Filipo fared no better. Raimondi's dry and used voice comes off pathetically in Filipo's great aria in the Third Act.

The saving aspects are the ladies in this recording. Katia Ricciarelli once owned the best lyrical soprano voice since Monserrat Caballe. In this French version, her performance is only but slightly (very slightly) short of Caballe's illustrious performance in the Italian version under Giulini.

As for conducting, I myself prefer Giulini's to Abbado's in this work."