Stream: Don Carlos
It’s not every day that the Metropolitan Opera puts on a new Verdi Opera. This season’s Don Carlos – note the “s” – is its first production of Verdi’s original five Act opera in French, first performed in Paris in 1867. The Royal Opera House “rediscovered” this version 25 years ago, and the Edinburgh Festival hosted a staged performance, conducted by Bernard Haitink, in 1997. Karita Mattila sang Elizabeth and made her first entrance in the forest of Fontainbleu on a grey horse.
David McVicar’s production for the Met involves no animals but is straightforward and serviceable, always making the action easy to follow and facilitating both crowd scenes and intimate moments. The monumental set is Met-style conventional, using the full height of the stage for catacombs, ossuaries, balconies, and, in the first Act, tree trunks. Traditional Spanish court costumes are Velasquez black, contrasting with the winter white furs of the French court at the beginning. Clever lighting prevents Acts II to V from being excessively gloomy.
It's an opera which they say is easy to cast if you have the five best singers in the world. Most of these Met singers are in the top rank, and also importantly have the powerful voices to sing well at the Met - at nearly 4000 seats, the world’s largest opera house. Matthew Polenzani in the title role and Sonya Yoncheva as Elizabeth are well-matched, experienced singers, making the anguish of unrequited love believable. Public duty and private life are in contention in a court ruled by intrigue. Rodrigue, Carlos’s friend, has the most interesting role, protecting Carlos from the worst of his father’s suspicions while simultaneously acting as the King’s confidant. The Canadian baritone, Etienne Dupuis on his Met debut is, for me, the best of the singers, thrilling in his solos and in the famous liberty duet with Carlos. He’s an excellent actor, and eventually has a terrific death scene! I did feel that McVicar went over the top at the end of the opera when he reappeared in a blaze of light at the back of the stage to welcome Carlos to the afterlife…
The role of the treacherous Eboli might have been written with Jamie Barton’s talents in mind. She certainly has a ball in the role, acting the villainess with glee. The voice is still large, with that magnificent lower range, though she sounded shrill at the top a few times. But it’s a long role. The audience certainly gave her an ecstatic reception.
I had more doubts about Eric Owens as Philippe II. He has an imposing presence and his Act IV aria, in which he reveals his frustrated hopes for his marriage, is beautifully sung, with violins and solo cello accompaniment. But he struggled to be heard in the crowd scenes. He returned to the stage for this, the last performance of the run, after illness on the penultimate night, so perhaps wasn’t in full voice. Incidentally Britain’s Matthew Rose, luxury casting for the Monk in Act I, got his chance to play the King, replacing Owens at that one performance.
Another Canadian, bass-baritone John Relyea is the Grand Inquisitor, the progenitor of the deep-rooted evil in the kingdom. Blind, in red robes, and supported by sticks and two attendants, he enters to even deeper and scarier music than Rhinegold’s giants. It’s a cameo role, but we have to understand his power to make everything else in the opera believable. Is it the lowest-lying role in opera? Certainly Relyea has all the notes, and turns in a cracking performance.
Swiss conductor Patrick Ferrar replaced Yannick Nezet-Seguin for this and the previous two performances. He marshalled the large, sometimes huge forces of orchestra and chorus well, keeping the action moving forwards inexorably. We see hunts, duels, rebellions, processions and executions, yet are always aware of the personal tragedies at the opera’s heart. It’s an exciting watch, well-worth seeking out when it’s released on a streaming service or DVD. Meanwhile the recording of the performance is available on BBC Sounds until 25th April.
