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When and why did Verdi write Aida?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
Verdi Requiem: a quick guide<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>
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I<\/span>n this work, the personal and the political intersect in a uniquely convincing and powerful way. Written for Paris in 1867, Don Carlos<\/i> (the French title) was so overlong that Verdi<\/a><\/strong> panic-strickenly cut huge portions of it, changed many more, and when it was translated into Italian \u2013 as Don Carlo<\/i> \u2013 made even more alterations, so that there is nothing approaching a definitive text, and every recording I\u2019ve heard, every production I\u2019ve seen, has been noticeably different from any other. It\u2019s a good idea to have at least two versions, since carefully chosen they will amount to two different works.<\/span><\/p>\n
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The best recordings of Giuseppe Verdi\u2019s Don Carlos<\/em><\/h2>\n
Antonio Pappano (conductor)<\/span><\/h3>\n
Roberto Alagna, Thomas Hampson, Karita Mattila; Orchestre de Paris (1996)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n
Warner Classics 0630163182 (DVD)<\/i><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n
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The opera<\/span> is almost always performed in Italian, but I have come to the conclusion that it sounds far better in French, in what is described as \u2018the original version\u2019 (though there\u2019s no such thing). Filmed \u2018live\u2019 in 1996, tenor Roberto Alagna as Carlos is in tremendous voice, and convincingly realises the character\u2019s complexity. His beloved Elisabeth is movingly portrayed by soprano Karita Mattila, his father Philip by bass-baritone Jos\u00e9 van Dam, at his most inward and commanding; and mezzo-soprano Waltraud Meier as Princess Eboli fights powerfully for his affections. With six major characters and some important minor ones, there is always a flaw, and baritone Thomas Hampson\u2019s Rodrigue is hampered not only by a grotesque wig but also by having little sense of a Verdian style, so that his great scenes with Carlos are less moving than they should be.<\/span><\/p>\n
Antonio Pappano conducts an impassioned account of the score, with the ballet music happily excluded. Director Luc Bondy\u2019s production is satisfactory, and doesn\u2019t wear thin with repeated viewing.<\/span><\/p>\n
If you should prefer just to listen, there is also a CD set of the same Don Carlos<\/i> performance available (on EMI 556 1522), so I would \u2013 despite reservations about some cuts and Thomas Hampson\u2019s portrayal of Rodrigue \u2013 give this set a warm recommendation.<\/span><\/p>\n