Don Carlos is an opera for great voices. Each of the six main characters receives a convincing dramatic foundation and development, and each singer has great musical highlights. Schiller wrote a brilliant literary model with his novel “Don Karlos” . It is a play about freedom and human dignity of the age of enlightement, which ignited the spark of inspiration in Verdi. No other work by Verdi has such a far-reaching plot and the power of five acts.
Posa visits Don Carlo in the monastery – the famous duet «Dio, che nell’alma infondere»
Don Carlos seeks his peace of mind in the convent, he cannot forget the pain of the loss of Elizabeth. Suddenly he hears a familiar voice. His friend Posa has returned from Flanders and visits him in the convent. Posa has heard of Don Carlos’ fate. He persuades him to dedicate his life to Flanders, which is oppressed by the Inquisition. Don Carlo joins in enthusiastically and the two of them swear eternal friendship.
The two of them dream of a better world in which intellect and humanity reign. With Don Carlos and even more so with the Marquis de Posa, Verdi and Schiller draw two ideal human beings who probably never existed in this way. Their hymn is repeatedly quoted throughout the opera as a leitmotif as a sign of freedom and friendship.
We hear a recording from Robert Merrill and Jussi Björling. They formed the duet dream couple of the 50s. They did many productions together and there were few vocal connections before and after, that could compare with the Swedish and American. The two singers were also friends in private, and so this scene became the most famous piece of this duet pair.
Io l’ho perduta! … Dio, che nell’alma infondere (6:45) (2) – Merrill / Björling
The solitude of the King – «ella giammai m’amò»
In the king’s study. The morning begins to dawn and the King is sitting desperately at his table. Concern for his kingdom and the realization that Elizabeth never loved him grieve him too deeply.
The main character of this aria by Philipp is deeply melancholic. It begins with an orchestral introduction. A solo cello sounds lonely and desolate, reflecting the emotional state of the ruler. Sighing motives from the violins complete the picture and intensify the pain. Above the tremoloing strings, we hear Philip’s lament, which begins with the dramatic “she never loved me!” played around and accompanied by the solo cello. This piece of music is one of the most beautiful arias for bass voice in the entire operatic repertoire. “It is one of those iconic moments when a restrained orchestral accompaniment, a simple declamation and a single melodic outburst manage to carve emotion into our souls” (Abbate/Parker, “History of Opera”).
Boris Christoff was the preferred Philip of the 50s. His bass is noble and soft, but has dramatic qualities. His acting was outstanding, his role portrait of Philipp II grandiose. We hear and see the Bulgarian in a remarkable recording.
Ella giammai m’amò – Christoff
The great aria of Elisabeth – the renouncement «Francia nobile suol»
In the monastery of San Giusto. Elizabeth wants to say goodbye to Don Carlo. She kneels in front of the tomb of Charles V. In her deathly longing she thinks back wistfully to her happy youth in France.
This final performance by Elisabeth is extremely demanding, as she must keep up the feelings of grandeur, suffering and longing for death with a long arc of suspense for more than 10 minutes. The aria begins after a lengthy orchestral introduction in a minor mood; Elisabeth is worried about Carlo. But the raison d’état demands that she be strong and she thinks back to the few beautiful moments with Carlo and the mood changes to major with her love theme.
We hear this great performance in 2 versions. The two influential critics Kesting and Steane did not agree who sang the “final” version. The former pleaded for Callas and the latter for Caballé.
Let us first listen to the Spaniard in Giulini’s magnificent complete recording. Fischer (“great voices”) commented: “You can find everything in it that led Steane to his enthusiastic verdict: the sheer beauty of the timbre slightly eclipsed that of Callas who had left the stage and also surpassed the ever cloudy sound of Joan Sutherland. There was a melancholy clarity in this soprano, the sharply contoured light of the Spanish plateau … and to sing an evenly flooded piano, transforming it into a diminuendo and then letting it die in a morendo at the end.”
Tu che la vanità … Francia nobile suol (1) – Caballé
Posa visits Don Carlo in the monastery – the famous duet «Dio, che nell’alma infondere»
Don Carlos seeks his peace of mind in the convent, he cannot forget the pain of the loss of Elizabeth. Suddenly he hears a familiar voice. His friend Posa has returned from Flanders and visits him in the convent. Posa has heard of Don Carlos’ fate. He persuades him to dedicate his life to Flanders, which is oppressed by the Inquisition. Don Carlo joins in enthusiastically and the two of them swear eternal friendship.
The two of them dream of a better world in which intellect and humanity reign. With Don Carlos and even more so with the Marquis de Posa, Verdi and Schiller draw two ideal human beings who probably never existed in this way. Their hymn is repeatedly quoted throughout the opera as a leitmotif as a sign of freedom and friendship.
We hear a recording from Robert Merrill and Jussi Björling. They formed the duet dream couple of the 50s. They did many productions together and there were few vocal connections before and after, that could compare with the Swedish and American. The two singers were also friends in private, and so this scene became the most famous piece of this duet pair.
Io l’ho perduta! … Dio, che nell’alma infondere (6:45) (2) – Merrill / Björling
The solitude of the King – «ella giammai m’amò»
In the king’s study. The morning begins to dawn and the King is sitting desperately at his table. Concern for his kingdom and the realization that Elizabeth never loved him grieve him too deeply.
The main character of this aria by Philipp is deeply melancholic. It begins with an orchestral introduction. A solo cello sounds lonely and desolate, reflecting the emotional state of the ruler. Sighing motives from the violins complete the picture and intensify the pain. Above the tremoloing strings, we hear Philip’s lament, which begins with the dramatic “she never loved me!” played around and accompanied by the solo cello. This piece of music is one of the most beautiful arias for bass voice in the entire operatic repertoire. “It is one of those iconic moments when a restrained orchestral accompaniment, a simple declamation and a single melodic outburst manage to carve emotion into our souls” (Abbate/Parker, “History of Opera”).
Boris Christoff was the preferred Philip of the 50s. His bass is noble and soft, but has dramatic qualities. His acting was outstanding, his role portrait of Philipp II grandiose. We hear and see the Bulgarian in a remarkable recording.
Ella giammai m’amò – Christoff
The great aria of Elisabeth – the renouncement «Francia nobile suol»
In the monastery of San Giusto. Elizabeth wants to say goodbye to Don Carlo. She kneels in front of the tomb of Charles V. In her deathly longing she thinks back wistfully to her happy youth in France.
This final performance by Elisabeth is extremely demanding, as she must keep up the feelings of grandeur, suffering and longing for death with a long arc of suspense for more than 10 minutes. The aria begins after a lengthy orchestral introduction in a minor mood; Elisabeth is worried about Carlo. But the raison d’état demands that she be strong and she thinks back to the few beautiful moments with Carlo and the mood changes to major with her love theme.
We hear this great performance in 2 versions. The two influential critics Kesting and Steane did not agree who sang the “final” version. The former pleaded for Callas and the latter for Caballé.
Let us first listen to the Spaniard in Giulini’s magnificent complete recording. Fischer (“great voices”) commented: “You can find everything in it that led Steane to his enthusiastic verdict: the sheer beauty of the timbre slightly eclipsed that of Callas who had left the stage and also surpassed the ever cloudy sound of Joan Sutherland. There was a melancholy clarity in this soprano, the sharply contoured light of the Spanish plateau … and to sing an evenly flooded piano, transforming it into a diminuendo and then letting it die in a morendo at the end.”
Tu che la vanità … Francia nobile suol (1) – Caballé
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