Verdi - Don Carlo - Carreras, Baltsa - Karajan 1996DVD9 - PAL - 4:3 - All Regions - Italian - LPCM, Dolby Digital Stereo - 179min. -
Subtitles: English, German, French
Sony, released 2002
Filippo II, Re di Spagna - Ferruccio Furlanetto
Don Carlo, Infante di Spagna - José Carreras
Rodrigo, Marchese di Posa - Piero Cappuccilli
Il Grande Inquisitore - Matti Salminen
Un frante (Carlo V) - Franco de Grandis
Elisabetta di Valois - Fiamma Izzo D'Amico
La Principess Eboli - Agnes Baltsa
Chor der Bulgarischen Nationaloper Sofia
Konzertvereinigung Wiener Staatsopernchor
Salzburger Konzertchor
Berliner Philharmoniker & Herbert v. Karajan
Recorded 1986 at the Salzburger Osterfestspiele
This is DVD of a 1986 Salzburg Easter Festival live performanceand as such it has all the excitement and sense of occasion of a real thatrical experience. Karajan, of course, controls the whole production, being his festival. The Berlin Philharmonic in the orchestra pit is something few recordings of this opera can compete with. Karajan conducts without a score in his usual transcendental manner. The total effect is crisp, powerful, dynamic, precise, tightly controlled and well detailed. His approach works especially well in the powerful climaxes, dramatic exchanges and the great assembly scenes. The finale of Act 2 (the Auto da fe scene) is superb.
The singers are what makes this performance so extraordinary and memorable. The opera requires six top quality singers. Karajan,of course,hand picked them for the roles, using some of his perennial favourites and some newcomers.Agnes Baltsa and Jose Carreras plus Piero Cappuccilli are some of the perennials. --- Amazon
