thadieu's opera rambling outlet

don carlos live

now, on medici.tv

(Foto: Monika Rittershaus)
(Foto: Monika Rittershaus)

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* i don’t know this opera very well.. thought fontainebleau was skipped… but here it comes…
* scene done, Harteros gone… may be time to head back to bed…
* male bonding… libertà!
* princess Eboli has arrived, along with the all female chorus.. let me check who’s in trouser…
Maria Celeng (Tebaldo) , Ekaterina Semenchuk (La Principessa Eboli)
* eeks, the king has arrived to catch vulnerable Elisabetta alone… and her best pal is kicked back to Spain…
* heart breaking scene on the floor, Elisabetta and her best friend… though whenever this scene hits i always think of Marina Poplavskaya at covent garden.

* back, wow how long is this opera?? but just in time for Harteros’ big aria…
* a secret… he gives me a headache… but time to run again… let’s hope this thing remains on net for re-watch…
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Edit: rewatch
* making it slowly through the performance, quite like Harteros in first scene, like princess Eboli too. I currently on the floor:
harteros1
harteros2

* there’s way too much male singing! who are all these guys? no wonder the opera is 5hr long. on same note, i not really fan of king Phillip, or whoever he is that Elisabeth married to…

* YESSSSSS, patience has paid off. finally got to Elisabetta’s aria… dead quiet, heavenly soft singing, shaken-ly heart breaking when the flute re-introduced fontainebleau tune, followed by Elisabetta’s wide sparkling eyes + soft smile recalling happy times, *sniff*. absolutely gorgeous singing. right about here (that must be the clarinet accompanying flute?):

Tu che le vanità
Tu che le vanità

* So, that’s a wrap, i really made it to the end, all 6 parts of capture. REALLY like princess Eboli too. For Harteros, I love her singing, the last aria and duet were perfect. In other places sometimes i felt the singing occasionally a bit pushed (too loud singing?) . In all cases, i like her much more as Leonora, may be coz i like that music better :-). I’m quite fine without all the male characters :-D. A thadieu’s guide starts with Fontainebleau, then the Veil Song, then poor Elisabetta on floor coping with parting forever with her best friend (Non pianger, mia compagna), then princess Eboli’s regret (o don fatale), then to Elisabetta’s last aria and duet with Carlo. Oh, wait, there’s also a very short section (~1min?) with duet of some male voice and cello, very nice! The last duet also has Harteros singing to the harp! It’s also the bit i enjoyed JK’s singing the most, lots of soft singing and emotional expressiveness.

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ps- the staging was meh. i quite like staging of trovatore in Munich actually, with that masked shadow following Leonora handing her the cup of death… now any staging without dark creepy shadow is too tamed for me 😀

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thả diều

writing-challenged opera-addict

9 responses to “don carlos live”

  1. Eyesometric Avatar
    Eyesometric

    I saw the beginning, went out and it was still on when I returned! The web site states it will soon be available for delayed streaming.

    Reply
    1. thả diều Avatar
      thả diều

      oh thanks Eyes. I thought the beginning was good. then all the male singing and i fell back to sleep :-D. woke up, went to meeting, back, and it was STILL on!! i don’t recall it being 5hrs b4, singers must be exhausted… anyhow, trovatore was more my type 🙂 . but now settled in office, so will catch it again…

      Reply
  2. yvette Avatar
    yvette

    I watched it all, as you said there are men around! ! Posa-(Rodrigue, Carlo’s best friend) disappointed me most ! Simon keenlyside is much more convincing !This time I found Jonas K not quite in good shape most of the first part. looked tired. Of course, he was much better even splendid at the end.Beautiful singing on Elisabetta’s side. nearly all through the long opera.What a radiant image! I was amazed by her beauty, she looks like an Antique cameo with her curly hair at the back. I loved her costumes! She is an accomplished Verdian singer! the best! As for Ekaterina Semenchuk , compared to VK you posted on YT in the veil song well she lacks the Moorish je ne sais quoi VK has a lot ‘naturally.’…I missed René Pape …..knowing that Matti is a monument but a bit tired too.

    Reply
    1. thả diều Avatar
      thả diều

      ah Thanks Yvette, so you made it to the end too! Yes, throughout this performance i kept thinking of Rene Pape. And also Rodrigue… actually all the male voices, they sounded a bit pushed to me, which could be the case when one tries too hard… Which performance was Simon Keenlyside in? was it the covent garden? As for Elisabetta’s appearance, surely you notice my screen capturing rate :-D.
      (ps- yes, after hearing the veil song, i went back to the piece i captured of VK, and decided to post it. I hear quite a bit more details in her version. Too bad there was no soprano (and no chorus) accompanying her coz i really love the part when the mezzo voice prolongs the phrase and the soprano enters.)

      Reply
      1. yvette Avatar
        yvette

        You are right there is much more in Vk veil song ! above all for me the rhythm is better according to the style of the song and it is a pity the chorus is missing.VK could have been in this production because she does appear at this festival (I think she did last year).I like your screen captures! I did some too to grab the beauty of Anja’s face and also her attitude . I think they match well harteros-kaufmann same type of refined elegance . I appreciate her voice better than his still… they are incredible artists.

        Reply
        1. thả diều Avatar
          thả diều

          i edited to put in a note about the last duet where i really enjoyed Kaufmann’s singing too. I think that’s the only time he wasn’t singing loud. i recalled really enjoying his singing during broadcast of Beethoven’s Fidelio (with Anja Kampf) 2 years ago.. and he sounds fantastic in this one, which will occupy my screen for the next 2.5 hours

          ps- quite like Pappano’s conducting, both here and in don carlo above.
          ps2- besides kaufmann, susan graham’s singing is absolutely worth the 2hr sitting, ammmmmaaaazing singing, one forgets breathing!! she checks in at start of act 2 around 1hr6min and proceeds to hog alll attention with ‘roi de thulet”. duet is great, frantic trio leading to very moving d’amour l’ardente flamme… followed by drums calling for her execution!!

          Reply
  3. Tove S Avatar
    Tove S

    I haven’t seen or heard the whole thing, and after what you said about all the redundant males I’m not really tempted to (Verdi’s not my thing anyway) but I have heard Eboli’s arias (mostly with VK of course!) and my favourite is the one about the beautiful garden (is that the one you refer to as the “veil song”?). It’s very pretty and catchy, if Orientalist.

    Reply
    1. thả diều Avatar
      thả diều

      hi there Tove, i think Harteros’ is worth a look though :-). check out the beginning, then fastforward to veil song, the quickly to Harteros on the floor, then all the way to her last scene + duet… did VK record the veil song on her disc? i don’t recall.. the only time i’ve heard the full version was on her radio interview in Stara Zagora, from which i extracted her concert performance of the aria (posted here). But for Verdi, i really like Il Trovatore. If you can get your hand on the version done last month w/ Harteros, i highly recommend. As for Don Carlo, my fav is actually the Covent Garden version (avail full on youtube) with Marina Poplavskaya.

      Reply
      1. Tove S Avatar
        Tove S

        Yes VK did, I think it’s on her dramatic CD and then appears again on the recent arias and duos collection.

        Reply

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scientist by day, opera fan by nights and weekends.

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