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Untitled Document
Cometh
the hour, cometh the opera
by Catriona Graham |
Verdi: Don Carlos
Welsh National Opera
Edinburgh Festival Theatre
15 October 2005
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 Having
heard John Caird (director) and Carlo Rizzi (conductor) discuss on Radio
3 WNO's production of Don Carlos, I had some idea I'd see 'spectacle',
so I wasn't unprepared. But the reality is impressive.
France is at war with Spain. Elizabeth de Valois, daughter of Henri
II of France, is betrothed to the Infante Don Carlos, son of Philippe
II of Spain. To win peace, however, Elizabeth is married off to Philippe
II, so for the rest of the opera, Elizabeth and Don Carlos are unhappy.
Meanwhile, in Flanders, the Flemings are revolting. Rodrigue urges Don
Carlos to help them. He also pleads their case with Philippe, who advises
him to beware the Inquisition. In the end, the Inquisition gets both
Rodrigue and Don Carlos, the Inquisitor pointing out that if God sacrificed
His own Son for the greater good, why shouldn't Philippe.
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 The
set is simple - three sides of the stage have black terracing. Big crucifix
shapes stand for the trees at Fontainebleau. The foresters' fire turns
out to be constructed of crucifixes, borne off by a procession of monks.
More crucifixes, in lighting effects and props, leave little doubt which
religion underlies the story. Parasols and a white lace-edged sheet create
the convent garden in Act 2. A palette of black, red and white predominates,
with the odd bit of gold and, for the Flemings, beigey-brown - the main
exception being the ladies-in-waiting in Act 2. Their dresses are a delicious
sapphire blue - it's a long time since I coveted opera costumes, but I
could happily wear quite a few of Carl Friedrich Oberle's designs from
Acts 1 and 2.
The opera comes across as multi-layered. There's the buddy-movie, with
Scott Hendricks's Rodrigue so much more street-wise than Paul Charles
Clarke as Don Carlos. Why are tenors in opera so wet? There's the eternal
quadrilateral, with Sofia Mitropoulos' warm rich voice making the most
of Elizabeth's anguish. Guang Yang's Princess Eboli is clearly out of
her depth in the emotional politics with which she tries to engage.
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 As
for the power politics and the religious fundamentalism, it is a difficult
call which is more frightening - Andreas Silvestrelli as Philippe II or
Daniel Sumegi as the Inquisitor. The real tingle-factor goes to Matthew
Rose for the Spirit of Charles V.
Elizabeth Atherton is a convincing page Thibault, enjoying the company
of Comtesse d'Aremberg in particular. Megan Llewellyn Dorke is the Voice
from Heaven in both senses.
The chorus was consistently good on-stage and offstage. The ensemble
singing of the six Flemish deputies was excellent, their voices well-balanced.
Luis Rodriguez, as the Comte de Lerme and Jack O'Kelly as the Woodsman
sang their small parts well.
I can think of no greater compliment to the orchestra and conductor than
I did not notice them at all - I only noticed Verdi's music with its soaring
melodies.
Are the political resonances deliberate? Were they deliberate when Schiller
wrote the original play, and when Verdi wrote the opera?
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2005 Catriona Graham |
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