Don Carlo
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Photo by Robert Millard
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By Michael Van Duzer
Giuseppe Verdi’s Don Carlo is an opera with an identity crisis. Originally written for the Paris Opera in the preferred French epic style, the opera was originally seen as somewhat of a disappointment from the composer of Traviata, Rigoletto and Trovatore. Verdi re-wrote the opera for its Italian premiere, cutting the first act and generally tightening the drama as a whole. A third version attempted a compromise by reinstating the first act while maintaining the other revisions. However, the opera remained a rarity in the repertoire until a number of high-profile productions in the 50s and 60s revealed the work as an ambitious and stirring music drama that properly belongs with Verdi’s mature masterpieces.
Somewhat surprisingly in an era that favors uncut performances, Los Angeles Opera chooses to open its subscription series with a new production of Don Carlo sans the opening Fontainbleau Act. The major loss in this shortened version is certain background details that make the seemingly incestuous motivations of the eponymous hero more comprehensible. But there is nothing hard to understand about the political scene in 16th century Spain. After all, a proud and deeply flawed leader who uses the Church to solidify his power base and back an unpopular occupation of a foreign country resonates with uncomfortable ease to a contemporary American audience.
Director Ian Judge chooses a straightforward approach to Verdi’s complex historical tapestry. Placing the production in the proper period and eschewing directorial stunts, he wisely focuses equally on the human element and the politics. Simple, but thoughtful, blocking does much to clarify the complicated emotional landscape, and the actions are marvelously integrated with the music. John Gunter’s handsome, Velasquez-inspired settings move as swiftly as the drama they surround, while Duane Schuler’s moody lighting emphasizes the bloody nature of the characters.
Salvatore Licitra returnes to Los Angeles with a vocally assured Don Carlo. His ringing, Italian tone brings the requisite drama to the piece, and he even manages not to shortchange the tender moments. Still his Carlo remains, in the end, a dramatic enigma. Annalisa Raspagliosi brings a regal bearing and stylish singing to the role of Elisabetta, but this is the role that suffers most from the deletion of the First Act. Lado Ataneli is a gruffly sung and appropriately idealistic Rodrigo. His acting is generally sympathetic, although even he can't make the character’s extended dying sequence believable.
One of the great difficulties with Don Carlo is that the villains tend to overshadow the heroes of the piece. This problem is only exacerbated when the roles are played by such experienced scene-stealers as Ferruccio Furlanetto and Dolora Zajick. Furlanetto’s King Philip finds every facet of the complex character. Ice-cold and brutal at one moment, then moving in an instant to passionately tortured, he ably demonstrates why this role is one of the glories of the bass repertoire. Ms Zajick dons an eypatch to bring her special brand of scintillation to Princess Eboli. Whether drawing out the seductive lines of the “Veil Song,” recklessly seeking vengeance when Carlo spurns her, or finally coming to terms with her actions, Zajick is a vibrant, unstoppable whirlwind.
In the pit, Los Angeles Opera’s new music director, James Conlon, rallies his orchestral forces and conquers Verdi’s epic score with exquisite coloring and a thrilling forward motion that makes every moment in the three-plus hour opera seem necessary and exciting.
Dorothy Chandler Pavilion September 10 – October 1, 2006 (213) 972-8001 losangelesopera.com
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