This massive work brought on a most arduous of rehearsal periods in 1866. During this time Verdi made some major changes to the libretto like an additional scene for Elisabeth at the beginning of Act V. By February of 1867 rehearsals were coming to a close and it was clear that the work was far too long. Verdi then went to make substantial cuts, namely the Prelude and Introduction to Act I, part of the Phillip-Posa duet in Act II and both the Elisabeth-Eboli duet and Carlos-Phillip duet in Act IV. The premiere was not entirely well received and the work sort of vanished from the repertory after 1869. There were some early Italian revivals of the work in translation, but the length still proved a problem. in 1872 Verdi himself revised the score. He restored some of his early cuts and he cut some new things. in 1882-3 he made a full scale revision of the work, to make the size more manageable, partly in order to replace some pieces he now found unsatisfactory. Important cuts were the whole of Act I (though Carlos's aria was moved to the following Act), the ballet and it's scene, and the Act V chorus. Other scenes were revised, rewritten or reordered. La Scala premiered this new 4-Act version and then two years later a final version which restored Act I was published and started being performed. It is clear to see why we don't see this opera done much. When a company decides to do this piece there are so many questions. What language? It is often done in Italian, although a true Italian "version" does not exist. Only Italian translations. Which version? Or should they do a hybrid version? Whichever version one chooses, it is important to remember that this work is considered by many to be the pinnacle of French Grand Opera style... and written by an Italian!
On the subject of style, it should be noted that after it's 1867 premiere was the first time claims started to be made about Verdi being influenced by Wagner. At this point in time, Wagner's mature works, Tristan und Isolde (1859) and Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (1867), were sweeping the world of opera, so it was not a crazy conclusion to draw. Examples that were used were moments in the duets between Phillip and the Inquisitor and between Phillip and Posa. There are moments when the vocal writing is entirely declamatory. Melody vanishes from the singers and the orchestra takes it over. When the singers are silent, the orchestra seems to be filling the audience in on what the characters are thinking... these were techniques that were considered to be entirely Germanic and entirely Wagnerian, however it is important to mention that the exact same thing could be seen in act III between Rigoletto and Sparafucile in Verdi's Rigoletto sixteen years earlier; eight years prior to Wagner even premiering a work with such compositional tactics. Aside from that, Verdi, while he was most aware of Wagner's presence in the world of opera theoretically, didn't see an opera of Wagner's until the 1871 Italian debut of Lohengrin four years later. The claims of either man "copying" the other are completely based in bias and not remotely in fact, but that's a different blog...
Of all of the recordings of this great French Grand Opera, there are a couple that I think stand above them all in terms of well-roundedness and enjoyment. The one I chose is essentially the original five-act version, only sung in Italian. This selection does not reflect my own personal language preference. I do not feel strongly for either language, but if pressed to decide, I would probably choose French.
This recording, however, contains all other positive aspects of the opera that can be found.
It is EMI's 1970 recording conducted by Carlo Maria Giulini with the Ambrosian Opera Chorus and the Royal Opera House Orchestra, Covent Garden.
Don Carlos - Plácido Domingo
Elisabetta di Valois - Montserrat Caballé
Eboli - Shirley Verrett
Rodrigo, Marquis di Posa - Sherrill Milnes
Filippo II - Ruggero Raimondi
Grand Inquisitor - Giovanni Foiani
First of all, Verrett is not necessarily my favorite Eboli. She understands the role and is certainly fiery in her approach, however the singing (especially the top) I find to be a bit lack-luster. She doesn't ascend to the heights of this role like Simionato did, may she rest in peace, but in all honesty, her amazing rendition "O don fatale" will rouse the excitement of any listener.
Ruggero Raimondi is a very high quality Filippo. The fact that he is Italian certainly gives him the benefit on this disc of excellent word colouring and phrasing. His opening aria of Act IV truly sparkles with the diction, however his voice lacks the fearsome presence of his notable predecessors of the role, Boris Christoff & Nicolai Ghiaurov. The grand Inquisitor also leaves me wanting a bit more. His voice remains a bit shaky to my ear which immediately strips him of his immense power, however, this being one of my all-time favourite roles in the operatic repertory, I recognize that I am a bit picky. With that said, the duet scene between the two is extremely energized and communicates at a very personal level, possibly just due to the native Italian singers.
One thing that cannot be ignored about this set is the 70s trio of Domingo, Caballé and Milnes. They seemed to headline every Italian opera recording of the time, and while one may wish for more diversity, how I wish our world still had as many singers today of this caliber.
Caballé is in excellent voice on this reading. From the phenominal Carlos-Elisabetta duet in Act I to the magnificent "Tu che le vanita" in Act V. Like other heavy roles she sang, she sometimes lacks the innate power in her voice that is required, but she makes up for it with her flawless, sparkling soft notes.
Domingo is in top form here. From beginning to end he maintains a clear and easy beauty of tone and the power needed to express the necessary intensity... and he does it all without ever sounding like a baritone. Bravo, Plácido. In one of Domingo's autobiographies, he said that Don Carlo would have always been his favourite role to sing, except it only had one aria. This is was the only thing that kept it from being his favourite role, and we can hear his connection to Carlo in the intense personal touches he scatters throughout the score.
Milnes may not be the Posa that Cappuccilli is, but where he lacks, he makes up for it with energy and individuality. He makes this role his own. He brings out the relationships in the story like very few have been able to do. This may be due to his offstage relationship with his other two cohorts, but whatever the reason, it yields a great result.
The star of the recording has to be Giulini. This masterpiece had been in the works since he conducted the opera at Covent Garden in 1958 to tremendous success (bootlegs of this performance can be found). Since then, his tempi seem to have slowed down a bit, but for recording purposes, I think it works well. It brings out the pomp and grandeur of Schiller's "magnificent drama." His hand brings the music to life with a warmth that can speak to any listener in this, one of Verdi's most human operas.
Other recordings of this work to look into are the 1977 live La Scala recording conducted by Abbado with Jose Carreras, Mirella Freni, Piero Cappuccilli, Nicolai Ghiaurov and Elena Obraztsova or the V act French Abbado recording with Domingo, Nucci, Ricciarelli, Terrani, Raimondi and Ghiaurov… but if you were to have only one recording of Verdi's biggest and most complicated work, I recommend this recording first.
-Christopher Michael Kelley
