- Audio CD (16 Sep 1997)
- Number of Discs: 3
- Format: Box set
- Label: Opera D'oro
- ASIN: B000000UO2
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 352,233 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
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Product details |
Track Listings
| Disc: 1 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Don Carlo: Act I: Carlo il sommo Imperatore - Coro | |||
| 2. Don Carlo: Act I: Io l'ho perduta! ... Io la vidi - Don Carlo | |||
| 3. Don Carlo: Act I: E lui! Desso! L'infante - Rodrigo - Rodrigo | |||
| 4. Don Carlo: Act I: Dio, che nell'alma infodere - Don Carlo, Rodrigo | |||
| 5. Don Carlo: Act I: Introductory Chorus And Song Of The Veil - Eboli | |||
| 6. Don Carlo: Act I: La Regina! - Coro | |||
See all 10 tracks on this disc
| |||
| Disc: 2 | |||
| 1. Don Carlo: Act II: A mezzanotte nel giardin della Regina - Don Carlo | |||
| 2. Don Carlo: Act II: Ciel! non e la regina - Don Carlo | |||
| 3. Don Carlo: Act II: Ed io che tremava - Eboli | |||
| 4. Don Carlo: Act II: Spuntato ecco il di d'esultanza - Coro | |||
| 5. Don Carlo: Act II: Nel posar sul mio capo - Philip II | |||
| 6. Don Carlo: Act II: Sire! egli e tempo ch'io viva! - Don Carlo | |||
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See all 10 tracks on this disc
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| Disc: 3 | |||
| 1. Don Carlo: Act III: Pieta! Pieta! Perdon - Eboli | |||
| 2. Don Carlo: Act III: Ah! piu non vedro... O don fatale - Eboli | |||
| 3. Don Carlo: Act III: Son io, mio Carlo - Rodrigo - Rodrigo | |||
| 4. Don Carlo: Act III: Per me e il di supremo - Rodrigo - Rodrigo | |||
| 5. Don Carlo: Act III: Mio Carlo, a te la spada io rendo - Philip II | |||
| 6. Don Carlo: Act IV: Prelude | |||
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See all 9 tracks on this disc
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Tenor Franco Corelli never recorded the role of Don Carlo commercially, so this release is instantly valuable. Indeed the tenor is in magnificent voice: pungent, emotionally forward, thrilling and only occasionally sloppy. His Elisabetta is Gundula Janowitz, hardly a Verdi soprano, but she makes some very beautiful sounds nonetheless. Eberhard Wächter is surprisingly Italianate as Posa, while Shirley Verrett almost walks away with the whole show with her firey Eboli. Nicolai Giaurov is at his grandest as Philip II, and his scene with the terrifying Grand Inquisitor of Martti Talvela will take your breath away. Horst Stein leads a not always tidy but exciting reading.--Robert Levine
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
This live recording from Vienna of the 1882 four act edition (with the excisions then customarily observed) is truly one for the ages. Putting aside the caveats first - Waechter is not my ideal of a Verdi baritone with too much bark in his delivery and insufficient Italianate warmth, and Stein's conducting, while dramatic, allows the ensemble to go awry from time to time - this is a stupendous performance of a magnificent opera. The five remaining principals have voices to die for. Corelli's extraordinary tenor is by turns lyrical and plangent with an abundance of squillo in reserve. Janowitz's creamy tone suffused with gorgeous floated pianissimi renders Elisabetta into a melting, slightly ethereal, character. Talvela's Grand Inquisitor oozes inky blackness and is utterly terrifying. Ghiaurov is at the height of his immense powers, surely one of the greatest basses of the century and a vocal actor of incredible force. I leave the best - in my opinion - till last. Verrett's Eboli is simply incomparable here. She encompasses every facet of the role, musically and dramtically. Whether alone or in ensemble, her astonishing mezzo rises to and surpasses every challenge that Verdi demands. It is an incendiary interpretation which left me gaping in admiration and disbelief. From top to bottom (and my goodness, what a bottom!) she owns the role completely. Spellbinding.
Finally, the sound is remarkable for its age - a very good stereo with the voices mostly prominent.
Those present at the Staatsoper on 25 October 1970 rightly offer repeated and clamorous ovations on what clearly was a spectacular evening of grand opera at its most exciting.
Whichever studio recording of this masterpiece you may own already, this version is an essential adjunct. Do not miss it.
Finally, the sound is remarkable for its age - a very good stereo with the voices mostly prominent.
Those present at the Staatsoper on 25 October 1970 rightly offer repeated and clamorous ovations on what clearly was a spectacular evening of grand opera at its most exciting.
Whichever studio recording of this masterpiece you may own already, this version is an essential adjunct. Do not miss it.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
In a market of several excellent recordings of Don Carlo, this live performance from Vienna in 1970 is an outstanding addition to the catalogue. This is a must-have if only for Franco Corelli who is a radiant and dramatic Carlo. Janowitz is wonderful as the melancholic queen, her rich creamy soprano, soaring effortlessly in the high notes. Shirley Verrett is an impassioned Eboli, one of the very best on record. Ghiaurov as Philip II is also excellent in what was to become for him a signature role. The duet with the Grand Inquisitor in Act III is enough to send chills down your spine! The weakest link in this very strong chain is Waechter as Posa. His tone is too gruff for my liking, but he will be satisfying enough for most. Horst Stein's conducting is up with the best of interpreters, energetic and exciting, even if a bit too brisk in places. For me, this recording stands alongside the greats from Giulini and Karajan, and is to be highly recommended.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
17 reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Good singing, poor version
23 April 2002
Format:Audio CD
This performance is more like 3.5 stars, sometimes four. After listening to other complete five and four act version the cuts in this four act version were somewhat disconcerting. Both cuts in the second and fourth act Carlo-Elisabetta duets ruin the flow and interupt the drama for anyone who was heard the full versions. The finale also seems empty without the appearance of Charles V and Elisabetta's final scream. I also was not as impressed by the Philip-Inquisitor duet as other reviewers. In his attempt to be menacing Tavela resorts to screaming and towards the end his ranting leaves him breathless and you can hearing him panting during the lulls in the music. As this is an older, live recording the sound is spotty at times, but is decent overall. That all being said the rest of the performances are good and the energy of the live performance adds to the excitement. At this price this recording is worth buying for a Don Carlo fan.
17 of 21 people found the following review helpful
A Riveting Performance
15 Jun 2000
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Don Carlo is a problematic opera -- Verdi and French grand opera really didn't get on. The problem is too much material so cuts are needed and unfortunately, the best music, the most spectacular stage presentations and the coherent development of plot and character do not correspond, and muchthe latter is usually sacrificed. (This apparently started with the initial production which turned out to be unbelievably lengthy.)
However, Don Carlo does contain some really magnificent music. A satisfying performance requires five (and preferably six) really great singers with very strong voices, an enthusiastic orchestra and a fine chorus -- preferably one that is smoother than the principals.
This live recording has all these requirements. The title role was still ideal for Corelli towards the end of his career, and his singing is breath taking and one cannot ask for a bigger tenor voice. Shirley Varrett also may have been beyond her prime, but here she provides electric singing that lifts one from one's chair. Some of her low notes are chesty -- but this adds to the highly sinister portrait that Varrett paints of Eboli. Eberhard Waechter is magnificent as Rodrigo, his typically smooth and elegant singing poviding a nice contrast to the other two. Less memorable, though still supurb in some passages, is the Elisabeth of Gundula Janowitz. Her portrayal, marred by a rather dark timbre not too sitable for this role, seems almost routine in comparison with the others'. Nicolai Ghiaurov gives a suitably weighty Philip II, though not a performance that adds much to his character, and Talvela's grand inquisitor rounds out ably a satisfying cast. The Vienna chorus does a splendid job, and Stein just manages to control a Vienna Philharmonic that has abandoned gemutlichtheit in favour of red blooded playing.
The sound is remarkably good for a live recording. The Viennese audience is enthusiastic but well disciplined and in fairly good health. Their applause is not cut short -- the recording proceeds through curtain calls -- sometimes several of them -- where a typical radio production would fade to a voice over. Of course, one can cut this short with the remote zapper, a necessary step for repeated listening.
The booklet is farcically inadequate, wih no libretto and no serious indication of which versions are used and what is cut. But for the price, what can one expect? (Incidentally, my search for this recording turned up a version from Myto which appeared to be the same thing with different track indices and the addition of some other (non Verdi) material at a very much higher price. I have no idea what its booklet etc might be like.)
10 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Verdi's masterpiece a tad abridged....
29 Aug 2002
Format:Audio CD
This is a very interesting recording of DON CARLO because it offers a terrific cast, great sound quality at a low price, but, sadly, the score is so abridged that one yearns for a more complete reading with most of the same cast.
We don't often think of Corelli in this role, but he is quite thrilling, particularly in his final duet. Gundula Janowitz and Eberhard Waechter, as Elisabeth and Posa, respective, are clearly out of their fach in this opera, but they get the job done, particularly Janowitz.
Ghiaurov, heard here in his prime is a booming, threatening Phillip, yet he turns introspective and delivers a great verion of his Act IV aria. His confrontation with the wonderfully sinister Inquisitor of Matti Talvela is the finest I've heard anywhere.
Clearly, though, the performance belongs to Shirley Verrett, who steals the show with her gutsy, thrilling Eboli. From her Veil Song, to her "Don Fatale" she thrills at every turn. If for no other reason, buy this recording for her.
We don't often think of Corelli in this role, but he is quite thrilling, particularly in his final duet. Gundula Janowitz and Eberhard Waechter, as Elisabeth and Posa, respective, are clearly out of their fach in this opera, but they get the job done, particularly Janowitz.
Ghiaurov, heard here in his prime is a booming, threatening Phillip, yet he turns introspective and delivers a great verion of his Act IV aria. His confrontation with the wonderfully sinister Inquisitor of Matti Talvela is the finest I've heard anywhere.
Clearly, though, the performance belongs to Shirley Verrett, who steals the show with her gutsy, thrilling Eboli. From her Veil Song, to her "Don Fatale" she thrills at every turn. If for no other reason, buy this recording for her.
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