|
|
Berlin - April 11th, 2008: a sensational evening for music and opera lovers with a 3 hour 25 min performance of Verdi`s `Don Carlo`, featuring tenor Andrew Richards as Prince (Infante) Carlo, soprano Norma Fanitina (Queen Elisabeth) and a magnificent René Pape as Philipp II, King of Spain, whose impassioned bass secured the evening`s strongest applause. The story, sung tonight in Italian with overhead German subtitles, covered the grim outcome of the marriage between Philipp and Elisabeth who had been formally betrothed to the King`s son, Carlo.
The cold marriage inevitably heralds court plots, family intrigues and personal betrayals that soon convulse an imperial throne beset with rising rebellion at home and a Europe in upheaval. Like Shakespeare`s `Hamlet`, it`s more than a family affair with an Oedipal problem (interestingly, the historic Carlo and Elisabeth on which Schiller based the original liberetto were just 14 years of age).
The opera, renowned as Verdi`s longest, has had a variable history. Originally in Five Acts and first performed in Paris in 1867, it was finally honed down by Verdi to the Four Act version, as first performed at Milan`s Scala on January 10th, 1884. However, it was film director Visconti who resurrected the Five Act version at London`s Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in 1958. Subsequently, Plácido Domingo has been mainly responsible for its most significant outings - London (1970), La Scala (1983), The New York Met (1984), since when it was the turn of Carreras & von Karajan in Salzberg (1986) and Pavarotti & Muti at the Scala in 1994. The Berlin 2007-2008 Four Act version at the Staatsoper, Under den Linden, continues its own impressive run. Richards, Fanitina and Pape are ably supported by Alfredo Daza (Rodrigo, friend to Carlo), and Ildiko Komlosi (Princess Eboli). Their finely paced emsemble performances are thoughtfully enhanced by a moving set design that balances careful evocation of changing moods with vivid broad dramatic strokes which, as the critics have already noted, leaves no room for political allegorical subtext. However, the most impressive directorial feat of an evening rich in lighting and colour effect wasn`t the pained spectacle of hanging human meat, but, in Acts 4 and 5, how well individual performances were given due space to resonate so powerfully across the epic dramatic canvas, and to the obvious delight of the captivated audience.
Performances of `Don Carlo` for this season are still scheduled for April 21st and May 1st, 2008. Video sequences, reviews and background material can be sourced at the excellent Staatsoper website. Conductor: Julien Salemkour, Director: Philipp Himmelmann, Set Designer: Johannes Leiacker, Costume Designer: Klaus Bruns, Chorus Master: Eberhard Friedrich. Author: Alan Taylor E-Mail: a.taylor@balliol.oxon.org Pictures Courtesy, Staatsoper, Berlin Update: Berlin, 12.04. 2008 |
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
