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GIUSEPPE VERDI (1813-1901)

Don Carlos

167:29

Opera in four acts

Libretto by Joseph Méry and Camille du Locle, after Schiller

English translation by Andrew Porter

Act I

Scene 1: At the tomb of Charles V in the Monastery of San Juste

1

Prelude

2:17

2

'Charles the Fifth, our mighty Lord'

4:01

Chorus of Friars, Old Monk

3

'And I have lost her!'

4:09

Don Carlos, Old Monk

4

'There he is! The Prince!'

2:39

5

'But the King has not yet discovered your secret?'

1:19

Rodrigo, Don Carlos

6

'God who has brought us together'

4:18

Don Carlos, Rodrigo, Chorus of Friars, Old Monk

Scene 2: A garden outside the cloister

7

'Where the pine grove is green and shady'

3:17

Chorus, Thibault, Eboli

8

'In the marble palace of the Moorish King'

4:27

Eboli, Thibault, Chorus

9

'The Queen!'

1:52

Chorus, Eboli, Elisabeth, Thibault, Rodrigo

10

'I'm so eager to hear the news you bring'

1:57

Eboli, Rodrigo, Elisabeth

11

'Carlos my friend, hope of our future'

4:27

Rodrigo, Eboli, Elisabeth

12

'I come before the Queen and I ask for a favour'

7:57

13

'Here where I stand let the earth crack asunder'

1:46

Don Carlos, Elisabeth

14

'The King!'

1:17

Thibault, Philip, Chorus

15

'Don't weep, my dear companion'

4:21

Elisabeth, Rodrigo, Philip, Chorus

16

'Remain here! I've seen you at my court'

2:18

Philip, Rodrigo

17

'O King, I come here from Flanders'

3:08

18

'What kind of peace is this you give your subjects?'

6:17

Rodrigo, Philip

Act II

Scene 1: The Queen's garden

19

Prelude

2:28

20

'At midnight in the garden of the Queen…'

2:12

Don Carlos, Eboli

21

'Alas your youthful mind has no idea'

2:40

Eboli, Don Carlos, Rodrigo

22

'Now he has scorned the love I gave him'

3:37

23

'Treacherous son, adult'rous lover'

3:31

Eboli, Rodrigo, Don Carlos

Scene 2: A square in front of the Vallodolid Cathedral, Auto da Fé

24

'Today is a day of gladness and joy'

6:59

Chorus of People, Chorus of Monks

25

'Let the sacred doors now be opened'

2:59

Royal Herald, Chorus of People, Philip

26

'O Heav'n! It's Carlos!'

4:55

Elisabeth, Rodrigo, Philip, Don Carlos, Flemish Deputies, Chorus of Monks, Thibault

27

'Sire! I have something to ask you!'

1:56

Don Carlos, Philip, Elisabeth, Rodrigo, Thibault, Monks, Chorus of People

28

'O heav'n!'

2:41

Elisabeth, Don Carlos, Chorus of People, Philip, Monks, Voice from Heaven, Flemish Deputies

Act III

Scene1: The King's study in the Escurial

29

[Introduction]

2:58

30

'She has no love for me!'

2:32

31

'I'll only sleep when I am laid to rest'

4:23

Philip

32

'The Grand Inquisitor'

3:22

Count of Lerma, Grand Inquisitor, Philip

33

'In this land of Spain no heresy has thrived'

5:24

Grand Inquisitor, Philip

34

'Your highness I ask for justice!'

2:01

Elisabeth, Philip

35

'You know full well, my hand was plighted'

2:36

Elisabeth, Philip, Eboli, Rodrigo

36

'Accurst be this hour'

4:11

Philip, Eboli, Rodrigo, Elisabeth

37

'Forgive! Forgive and pardon a woman who's wronged you'

3:25

Eboli, Elisabeth

38

'Oh cruel fate. O hated gift'

4:20

Eboli

Scene 2: A prison

39

'I'm here my Carlos'

3:15

Rodrigo, Don Carlos

40

'My last day has dawned forever'

2:32

Rodrigo

41

'But why do you speak of death?'

1:39

Don Carlos, Rodrigo

42

'O Carlos, now listen, your mother awaits you'

1:08

43

'Now I die, die contented'

2:23

Rodrigo

44

'My son I return you your sword'

2:58

Philip, Don Carlos, Chorus, Chorus of People, Count of Lerma, Grandees of Spain, Eboli, Grand Inquisitor

Act IV

At the tomb of Charles V

45

[Introduction]

2:43

46

'You, who spurned and renounced all the world'

2:38

47

'France, my noble land, so dear to me in childhood!'

5:16

Elisabeth

48

'She's there!'

5:34

Don Carlos, Elisabeth

49

'We shall meet not in this world'

3:49

Elisabeth, Don Carlos

50

'Yes, for ever! A double sacrifice is needed!'

1:43

Philip, Grand Inquisitor, Elisabeth, Don Carlos, Old Monk, Chorus of Monks

Alastair Miles bass - Philip II

Julian Gavin tenor - Don Carlos

William Dazeley baritone - Rodrigo

John Tomlinson bass - The Grand Inquisitor

Janice Watson soprano - Elisabeth de Valois

Jane Dutton mezzo-soprano - Princess of Eboli

Julia Sporsén soprano - Thibault

Stephen Briggs tenor - Count of Lerma

Clive Bayley bass - An old Monk

Rebecca Ryan soprano - Voice from Heaven

Campbell Russell tenor - Royal Herald

Julian Close bass - Flemish Deputy

Grant Doyle baritone - Flemish Deputy

Stephen Richardson bass - Flemish Deputy

Galloway Bell bass - Flemish Deputy

Stephen Dowson baritone - Flemish Deputy

Alexander Ingram (Assistant)

Richard Farnes

26-30 May 2009

“… Don Carlos has never seemed so grand a tragedy as it does on this set.”
                                                              

Fred Cohn
 

“…The cast is a strong one… Ensemble work is a consistent high point in its tight-knit vocal interplay… The conductor, Richard Farnes, is a truly exciting discovery, directing his forces to the manner born… Choral work is excellent and the orchestra superbly responsive to everything he asks for…”

Boyd Pomeroy

"The performance, especially from an orchestral perspective, provides an absorbing listen and will certainly find favour from those getting to know the work. Richard Farnes elicits a response from the Orchestra of Opera North that is strong in theatrical terms and is spaciously and atmospherically recorded ..."   "The orchestra is on fine form, at times superb."
 Alastair Miles’s Philip II is a more fiery interpretation of the King than many others in recorded terms, and he really sings off the words and brings the character to theatrical life – he’s certainly helped by Farnes’s fluid and generally fast tempos. "...the encounter with John Tomlinson’s terrifyingly implacable and vocally imposing Grand Inquisitor is the highlight ..."
 "Clive Bayley also provides an ideal vocal contrast as the mysterious monk, recorded in an acoustic that sounds just like a church cloister."

"Janice Watson is a strong Elisabeth, with attractive and creamy tone, and she delivers set-piece arias with considerable aplomb. She has a ’sad’ quality to her tone that makes her effective as the unhappy but regal  Queen ..."
"Jane Dutton’s fiery and forceful Eboli is satisfying, best in the more dramatic and declamatory moments ..."  "this is an exciting issue, most remarkable for the compelling contributions of Alastair Miles and for Richard Farnes’s refreshingly non-fussy and non-indulgent reading of the score. The excellent packaging and booklet is all one would from expect from Chandos."

Alexander Campbell

“...Opera North have much of which they can be proud. Under Richard Farnes, the orchestral playing will stand comparison with the acknowledged best. The strings achieve admirable precision and beauty of tone …The style also impresses as bearing the imprint of a genuine Verdi conductor with playing where, at times, one feels as though the instruments are contributing their own apt dialogue to the drama …”

John Steane   

 

“The opera is thrillingly conducted by Richard Farnes, for whom the orchestra and chorus play and sing their hearts out, and the recording – in Leeds Town Hall – captures the grandeur and intimacy. Julian Gavin’s Carlos grows in stature. William Dazeley’s Posa has a heroic ring and Janice Watson’s Elisabeth is one of her best performances. As King Philip, Alastair Miles is regal and human against John Tomlinson’s sinister Grand Inquisitor.”

“…this is a significant release, as we have never had a version sung in English. This is especially welcome, particularly as it is in Andrew Porter’s excellent translation, which strikes me as one of the most successful I have heard of a Verdi opera.
A further real strength of this recording lies in the superb conducting of Richard Farnes and the playing of the Orchestra of Opera North. It plays with real punch …
This is a Don Carlos well worth exploring for its translation, its singing and excellent conducting…”

Mark Pullinger

“The central relationships are full of passion, the conducting is full-blooded, and the huge auto-da-fé scene feels terrifyingly spectacular.”

 Warwick Thompson

“… this is a well-integrated, cleanly delineated performance of Don Carlos in its truncated four-act version, based on performances given last year by Opera North. The cast is good overall, but the outstanding element is Richard Farness’s forceful and vivid conducting of a finely responsive orchestra.”
                  

 Rupert Christiansen

“Best of the principles are Alastair Mile’s distinctive King Philip; John Tomlinson’s terrifying Grand Inquisitor and Clive Bayley’s Monk. Opera North’s choral and orchestral forces are both splendid, and conductor Richard Farnes process a superb interpreter of the score. The scale  and perspective of the recording are beautifully managed.”     

Performance ****/Recording ****

George Hall

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