Don Carlos [DVD] [2012]

The reason I purchased this performance was to both see and hear this cast when Lorengar, King and Fischer Dieskau were at the height of their operatic powers. Both James King and Dietrich Fischer Dieskau were 40 when this was telecast and in the process of recording the legendary Solti Ring. Pillar Lorengar was 37 and a principal soprano at the Deutsche Oper with most of her best work done in this house - so it is wonderful to see her in a live performance. Fischer Dieskau was at the height of his operatic career and in the late 1960's early 1970's and later favoured lieder recitals although singing Lear and Die Meistersinger at Munich in the late 1970's which I saw at the Munich Festival in 1979 when the voice did not have the vocal heft and presence as it did in the 1960's. James King was at the beginning of a great international career is great in the title role. Pillar Lorengar as Elizabeth is very good but we do not see or hear much of her until Act 1V or V depending on which version is used. However their roles in this production are severely cut - the Fountanbleau scene is omitted. The whole production appears to have been staged to show off Fischer Dieskau - and he is superb - you cannot take your eyes off him - he literally eats eats the scenery - both vocally and dramatically - and it is worth getting this DVD for this alone. It is for the opportunity to see and hear these singers at the height of their powers that this DVD is worth getting this performance. For those wanting a more complete and definitive version - later versions from Salzburg (Freni and Carreras), the Chatelau (Hampson, Alagna and Matilla) and the Metropolitan Opera (Domingo,Freni, Ghiaurov, Furlanetto), Covent Garden (Villazon, Poplovskaya, Keenlyside). Highly recommended.

I was going to deduct a star for the cut version...but in 1965 Don Carlos was not too often performed so we should be grateful for any version...especially such an historical document as this!Other reviewers have rightly praised the performance and its many aspects. I just want to add two points:1) The strange ending actually returns Verdi to Schiller; wise in Germany, I think, and quite effective if jarring if you know the "usual" version(s...of which there are several):The Queen faints and Philip coldly hands Carlos over to the Inquisitor, saying 'Cardinal, I have done my part, now do yours.' [1996 translation and adaptation by Sy-Qua and Oswald]. The Berlin version actually takes this a step further, with the Inquisitor -not the King- having the final word!2) Josef Greindl's riveting performance could be said to be overacted and (at times) oversung...but does the phrase 'German Expressionism' come to mind? I think so, and the concept fits surprisingly well. Think Dr. Caligari and his manipulation of his victim (Cesare); then think Philip II and HIS manipulation of an entire nation...With all its faults, don't miss this incredible event.

if it was not perhaps my favorite verdi opera, i would rate it with 3 stars. i have been looking for an original-french full version of don carlos, and it was the only production i found except the domingo/ricciarelli/raimondi , with claudio abbado at la scala, of 1985. altogether good performances, with Eboli standing out. getting a little tired of the bare white scenery, which has been "haunting" a lot of directors since the production of la traviata with anna netrebko for the salzburg festival.

Unique production ゛Don Carlos ゛by Peter Konwitschny, but convincing (especially the poor-smelling King ) .

Brilliant staging of Verdi's finest opera. The five act French version is the one to have compared to the 4 act version. Excellent cast and conductor.

MAgnífica oportunidad de disfrutar de la versión original íntegra (en francés) del Don Carlos de Verdi con un buen conjunto de cantantes dirigidos por Bertrand De Billy. La producción, de Peter Konwitschny, muy polémica en su momento pero en realidad con un gran sentido de la dramaturgia y con muy buenas ideas, proviene de la Staatsoper de Viena en coproducción con el Gran Teatre del Liceu.

les voix sont superbes et chantent avec style musicalité,et si la mise enscène est un peu sommaire,pour moi,cela compte peu vu le talent des chanteurs.Le chef fait partie de ceux que j'admire

This performance, taped for TV in 1967, has many of the most famous singers in the German orbit of the time, mostly in prime form, in roles that suit them, a great conductor in his prime, and is a well thought out production.Don Carlos is given in German, in the four act version with the usual cuts of that era, and some extra cuts (the royal procession in the first scene is gone, the middle of the garden scene is gone, cuts are made in all the ensembles in the auto da fe scene, there is a snip -- not the biggest I've heard -- in the final Carlos/Elisabetta duet -- and finally the very end is rewritten by unknown hands -- the Grand Inquisitor grasps Carlos, Elisabetta faints (so no Friar, identification of the Friar as Charles V, and no final B flat.)However, the 'cabinet' scene, act three scene one, in the four act version, one of the greatest Verdi stretches is more complete than it usually was in those days, even though the orchestral introduction is abridged. The entire Elisabetta/Filippo confrontation is included.Sawallisch leads this scene as though he is on fire; it is thrilling but well controlled and powerfully built. His work in the opera as a whole is taut and intense, though he accompanies sensitively when need be. The orchestra sounds good but the choral scenes are slightly muddy in sound perhaps not so important as the big choruses are heavily cut.James King, Pilar Lorengar, the late Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Martti Talvela as the Inquisitor and two famous Wagnerians, Josef Greindl as the King and the once world famous Gunter Treptow in the very small part of the Count de Lerma are here. Patricia Johnson and Lisa Otto, two much appreciated members of the Berlin ensemble, are respectively Princess Eboli and the 'Celestial Voice'.King and Lorengar sound splendid, though they are slightly bland, and one is aware that "Tu che le vanita' is a big sing for her. However one magnificent phrase follows another from both, and he is very expressive when not singing (like many tenors!)Rodrigo was a role closely associated with Fischer-Dieskau. He sings it beautifully, with a trill (!), excellent spin and good legato. He makes big choices as an actor in a style that is emphatic and doesn't always seem spontaneous -- but in his difficult death arias, marvelously done, Rodrigo's love for Carlos and the cause they share shines in his eyes and I found the result very moving.Greindl was famous in the USA mainly through records, though he was a star in Germany and a regular at Bayreuth. He has a dry, distinctive tone, sometimes wobbles and doesn't always sing in tune. But he gives a mesmerizing performance as the tormented king, violent and vulnerable. It's rare to see a singer use silence as he does -- in the great scene that ends act one, between him and Rodrigo, there is a moment where he stares into Fischer-Dieskau's eyes, then slowly circles him, trying to understand this mysterious man who wants nothing for himself but demands peace and justice for occupied Flanders. In the scene with the Inquisitor he makes the King's ruthless cruelty obvious, but when he crumbles before the vicious and powerful Churchman the result is devastating, and his ferocious attack on his wife, who he suspects of adultery with his son, is really dangerous. It's a remarkable impersonation, which, in a visual medium, transcends some ugly and/or approximate singing.Talvela in his prime is a stunning Inquisitor, chilling and ferocious with a huge sounding, black bass voice and no trouble with the role's tricky range. Johnson, is an excellent Eboli, more at ease than many with the florid 'veil song' and passionate and abandoned in 'O Don Fatale', a killer aria she sings very well.The TV production uses close cameras -- they never pull back from the stage. The result is a bit of claustrophobia, some too close scrutiny of singers, and a diminishing of what appears to be a highly detailed, grand production by the famous Gustav Rudolf Sellner.It's hard to know why these choices were made; the Japanese productions of mostly Italian companies in the '50's are better judged. A number of the singers seem self conscious at the close ups, though a performer like Greindl benefits from the scrutiny. There are some momentary blips in the tape.Sound is close but very good.This is an 'out of the main stream' performance, very much of its time in its cuts, and somewhat oddly judged TV production, less slick and manipulated than we would see today. But it is thrilling, involving and cumulatively powerful and moving.

E' un'edizione che non deve perdere chi vuole avere un'idea del livello qualitativo delle migliori rappresentazioni musicali del passato. DVD che speravo da tempo venisse messo in commercio. Il livello artistico degli interpreti è eccezionale. La messa in scena è in uno splendido bianco e nero. L'edizione è in tedesco, lingua del luogo del teatro come si usava all'epoca nei teatri delle varie nazioni, ma non intacca affatto la bellezza della rappresentazione. Del resto il DVD è fornito di ampie possibilità di sottotitoli nelle varie lingue.