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Having given us French Grand Opera at its height, with Peter Konwitschny's striking production of Fromental Halevy's La Juive earlier this year, Opera Vlaanderen has returned to the form with Verdi's Don Carlos, the Italian composer's final, remarkable engagement with French Grand Opera. Verdi's final thoughts on his Grand Opera, given in a strikingly modern psychological interpretation Reviewed by Robert Hugill on Star rating: 4.5 (★★★★½) Verdi Don Carlos (1886 Modena version, sung in French) Leonardo Capalbo, Mary Elizabeth Williams, Andreas Bauer Kanabas, Kartal Karagedik, Raehann Bryce-Davis, dir: Johan Simons, cond: Alejo Perez Opera Vlaanderen at Opera Ghen

If you should prefer just to listen, there is also a CD set of the same Don Carlos performance available (on EMI 556 1522), so I would – despite reservations about some cuts and Thomas Hampson’s portrayal of Rodrigue – give this set a warm recommendation.Verdi: Don Carlos - the Auto-da-fe scene - Opera Vlaanderen (Photo Annemie Augustijns) Director Luc Bondy’s production is satisfactory, and doesn’t wear thin with repeated viewing.

With six major characters and some important minor ones, there is always a flaw, and baritone Thomas Hampson’s 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.Īntonio Pappano conducts an impassioned account of the score, with the ballet music happily excluded. His beloved Elisabeth is movingly portrayed by soprano Karita Mattila, his father Philip by bass-baritone José van Dam, at his most inward and commanding and mezzo-soprano Waltraud Meier as Princess Eboli fights powerfully for his affections. Filmed ‘live’ in 1996, tenor Roberto Alagna as Carlos is in tremendous voice, and convincingly realises the character’s complexity. The opera 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 ‘the original version’ (though there’s no such thing).