Don Carlo ROH

Photo from the Times online Catherine Ashmore


Update - a rare treat - Simon Keenlyside interviewed by MusicwebInternational!


I keep getting one alert after the other reminding me that I am in the middle of my experiment :-) Now if the ROH software which sends out the reminders would only know!! They’d save themselves a lot of bytes by saying: Here is your summary reminder for this month, we hope you will enjoy your run and thanks for your business ;-)

Since there will probably be more posts on the Don Carlo I’ve decided to talk about the production at a later stage and focus more on the musical bits in this first one.

It is hard to define what this Don Carlo is like and I didn’t want to comment just after the general rehearsal, since things might change and first impressions are not always the last as well :-) I don’t know where I will end up at the last performance of the run, but at the moment the journey there is fascinating. I’ve rarely, if ever, felt so engaged with a piece. The GR felt extremely long and complex, not in terms of actual physical time but in terms of density of story, characters and music. After the second take the work is more and more like a dark, mysterious black sea… that calls out to you, draws you in and traps you in its waters.

It is so intense it takes some time to disentangle oneself from the four and half hours of Verdi score and so far, getting to know the work better has only meant its spell has grown stronger rather than weaker. It is not like I wasn’t familiar with it from recordings, but live it has become a much more challenging experience. Perhaps because of all of Verdi’s works it is here where the characters are defined to the greatest detail. The music supports and shades the characters as well as the story line. The music colours itself to suit the character on stage but also to point the way of their destiny. It is both varied and tightly knotted around central lines. Characters are clearly build into the story and although driven inescapably towards their individual destinies, there is enough space around them for their personality to be revealed gradually. Each character trait discovered, each side of their personalities revealed ties them only closer into the net that is insidiously spun around them. In spite of the considerable pace of the rush towards the abyss there is a sense of balance in the work that I think comes mainly from the almost equal weight given to each player in the piece. Each scene progresses the story, but also completes the picture and gives enough variety to keep one permanently engaged and breathless.

For me this run is a particular happy case in that we benefit from gorgeous voices, which are never used to display vocal technique alone , but become the expression of the person they are inhabiting and are doubled in most cases by considerable acting capabilities and commitment to become the character, not just play it.

I have been tempted to read a number of reviews that have been written about this and production controversy aside, Semyon Bychkov’s conducting seems to split the reviewers. Technical knowledge aside that I sadly don’t possess, this is how the music felt to me these nights: The orchestra is in excellent shape and however this particular sound is obtained, to me it feels incredibly natural. Not in the sense that this is the most logical take on the score (… who knows what that is?) but in the sense that the music is truly alive! It is like a spring born at the first notes that grows, flows and blossoms naturally in every following note. I don’t know if this is a too academic or cerebral interpretation as some have said, the effect is certainly emotional, more than anything else. There is no particular sense of surprise, but definitely one of inevitability, of development and evolution in the music. Like a living thing that transforms continuously around you, with new colours continuously unfolding after each phrase. It’s not a comforting feeling, more like being trapped in a huge jungle plant, which closes its stems around you. It let’s you breath but will not let you go until it dies naturally, just as it was born.

I don’t know if this will be the version of Don Carlo that I will like most over the years, but I am certain it is the most touching and engaging I have ever experienced. It has brought me closer to both the music and its incredible variety as well as to the characters and their story. Giving the libretto a renewed read I have discovered how beautiful it actually is, in this case to no little extent due to the fact that most singers (particularly Jonas Kaufmann, Simon Keenlyside and Ferruccio Furlanetto )have excellent diction and each word is full of meaning.

Another reason why I am so taken with this Carlo is that it is different! There is little if any of the classic belt it out style of most interpretations. I’ve never heard so much of this opera sung in piano and with so much care. There is so much human suffering and doubts in this piece, why should the heroics prevail, when they clearly lead nowhere? Which brings me back to some critics raised about the apparent restraint in this retake….These come more than obviously from comparison to the previous version of this production and also from prejudices about the current singers. It always puzzles me how people think that there is only one right version of interpretation. Why can’t different singers have different takes on the personalities they are supposed to give life to? Each see them in a different light and filter their interpretation through their own personality. I have seen both and both have touched me, why not? That is what makes a revisit interesting for me, how does a different singer interpret his part, how will his singing reflect his interpretation, etc. Otherwise what would be the point of seeing a live show? I’m obviously talking about Rolando Villazon’s and Jonas Kaufmann’s Carlo, different in voice and gesture as they two are different as artists. Which you prefer is obviously a matter of taste, I still don’t see a valid reason why one can’t actually like both…

Besides repeating complaints about the production already aired one year ago ( I guess we will be revisiting those with every new revival… how... boring!) there were the obvious preconceptions about the singers: Simon Keenlyside is not a Verdian baritone… how many times have I read that now? Jonas Kaufmann is a German tenor with an unsually dark voice. Yep, that one we’ve heard before as well. The mix of the two was obviously deemed unsuccessful before they even uttered a note.. at least by some. I have to say this “pairing ” is probably the thing that delights me most about this production! Verdi baritone.. what is that? A booming voice? Now where is it noted in the score by Verdi that we need to be left half deaf by a deep dark voice ? Same goes for Carlo, who says what kind of voice the tenor must have? All Verdi said was what notes he was supposed to sing and how. As long as both tenor and baritone can do it, well then it is a valid pair of Posa and Carlo! I knew the "too dark tenor + too light baritone" was just around the corner… but has anyone actually opened their ears and listened to the two sing together? As if they have never heard the duo before? This duo as pictured in the story is that of a deep friendship of two young people who have known each other since childhood and who are deeply fond of each other. They share common ideals, albeit one is more romantically “disoriented” while the other more “practically focused” ;-) So their leitmotiv, their duos should be about shared harmonies and feelings. Remember only one of the them is a soldier, the other just a dreamy idealist. The common ground they find is in their ideals and their fondness of each other. So there is no reason why each encounter should be punctuated by displays of heroic fortes… So why should JK and SK not make wonderful music together? Why when they so obviously share common musical tastes and style, when they are each refined and accomplished artists. Yes they have similar singing styles and their voices are maybe from the timbre closer than other two artists. But in this particular case this is a major advantage, by no means a reason for critique. That their display of Posa and Carlo is more subtle, refined does not mean that it is any less powerful, quite the contrary, there is immense intensity in subtlety. I liked their take on the 2nd act duo at the premiere, but I absolutely loved the one at the general rehearsal!!! If I had my wish I would want to hear that duo, sung partially in the most tender piano, again and again and again… I do hope they will go for that more sensitive version again! It was divine!!! Now those are two singers who have mastered the piani to perfection! And I have never heard a tenor and baritone fall so naturally in sync in this duo, with as little as a side-glance, it was a glory of harmony rather than a display of competitive force :-) More appropriate for two friends, wouldn’t you say?

And when music and singing achieves such beauty it is impossible for the soul not to be touched. Who says you have to force your way into the audience’s heart????
On that note, many reviewers don’t even bother to mention the audience reaction on the premiere night for example… Roars like that night come seldom along at the ROH, at least from what I have seen. Neither Carlo nor Rodrigo were ever interrupted in their duos ( wonder if it wasn’t because the audience was too touched by the singing and music to barge in, hm???) but the applause came crashing down on both at the end, very deservedly so! Ok, you might dislike production and even conducting might be controversial, but I feel it only fair to say the audience at the ROH liked it very much.

But it is an extraordinary night out not only due to these two, Furlanetto IS Filip, in such a powerful way that he almost sings the Inquisitor ( J Tomlinson) off the stage, Marina Poplavskaya has obviously had a wonderful positive development since last time and has grown into an altogether more natural Isabella, Marianne Cornetti is an effective dramatic Eboli and they all boost each other to create what is an unmissable evening of Verdi!

By the way, since it has been pointed out repeatedly that this is subtle, restrained, etc performance DO take you opera binoculars with you!! You wouldn’t want to miss out on those details others have obviously not observed , would you? So what if you sit front row?.... I assure you those white lacy collars are fascinating!!! And there are some stitchings on the costumes ..amazing!!! Who cares what others will think of it? These are some beautiful costumes that don’t come around that often and those swords are definitely worth admiring from up close… after all, it is about enjoying oneself and not missing out on anything worth taking in… so go ogle!! And come back and share your impressions if you will ;-)

PS The other night i went full of expectation to see the ROH shop window display and what a dissapointment! No recordings of any DC in the window, none with CDs of the singers and at least two have recent CDs.. I understand contractual obligations with sponsors... but really there always was at least a corner dedicated to the current piece performed, and after all this is the opening of the season!!! ....

Reviews! ... knock yourself out if you will , i've done my homework so to speak and this was as pleasant as homework can be...

New- Times (H Canning)
DailyExpress
MusicwebInterntional
Independent
Times
Guardian
Thisislondon
FT
Musicalcriticism
Musicomh
TheStage
Whatsonstage
Classicalsource
OperaBritannia
Intermezzo
TTTCritic