Above: Günther Groissböck as Philip II and Peter Mattei as Posa in the Met's DON CARLO
Saturday December 3rd, 2022 matinee - For years, Verdi's DON CARLO was my favorite opera. I fell under its spell while listening to the famed (but wildly uneven) Met broadcast of 1964 with Leonie Rysanek, Irene Dalis, Franco Corelli, Nicolae Herlea, Giorgio Tozzi, and Hermann Uhde.
I have always preferred the 4-act Italian version of this opera to the original 5-act French. Right from the start, the Italian setting creates a regal mood with the purple-toned horns. I'll never forget the chorus intoning "Carlo, il sommo imperatore" and the voice of the young Justino Diaz in the role of the mysterious Friar singing "Ei voleva regnare sul mondo...", even though nearly 60 years have passed since that memorable afternoon.
This afternoon, a magnificent Greek basso named Alexandros Stavrakakis (above) opened the opera with his grand voicing of the Friar's lines. Winner of the 2019 Tchaikovsky International Competition, Mr. Stavrakakis filled the big hall with his rich, plushy tone which recalls such illustrious bassos as Christoff, Ghiaurov, and Sergej Koptchak. I certainly hope we will be hearing more of this Greek paragon at The Met very soon.
Rafael Davila replaced the originally-announced Russell Thomas as Don Carlo today. Mr. Davila has a nice spinto sound with a trace of a sob at times, and with powerful top notes. He could be persuasive while singing softly, though for the most part he simply poured out the tone.
Mezzo-soprano Yulia Matochkina has a well-projected voice that seems comfortable in the Met space. She handled the fancy-work of the Canzone del Velo quite well, making much of the second verse; joining her in harmonized passages was Erika Baikoff, an appropriately-cast soprano Teobaldo. But the bombastic sounds coming from the pit were of no help to anyone.
The music of Elisabetta seemed to suit Angela Meade far better than some of the bel canto roles she has sung in New York City, wherein her fast vibrato often prevented her from clearly articulating the coloratura passages. She was quite fine in the duet with Carlo, where the passion seething under her courtly veneer was evident. The haunting farewell to the Countess of Aremberg was instinctively well-phrased, though on the highest notes, the tonal flutter sometimes reappeared.
Günther Groissböck's Philip II made a vivid impression. Together with Peter Mattei's Posa, they made the great scene between king and courtier a riveting experience. If only they had had a first-rate Maestro! Rizzi upped the volume in all the wrong places, trying to turn their scene into a shouting match. But the singers were having none of it; they simply stuck to their music-making, refusing to bark or bellow. Mr. Groissböck had a magnificent moment when he cried out his anguish over what his son had stolen from him.
Mr. Mattei's Posa was on the same exalted level as his Amfortas, Onegin, and Wozzeck. His elegant singing of "Carlo ch'e sol..." during his audience with the Queen fell on the ear like a balm. The entire scene with the king found Mr. Mattei singing superbly and exploring every nuance in the music to underscore the character's innate nobility of mind.
I was so fed up with the Rizzi mess that - despite wishing to hear both Groissböck and Mattei in their great scenes later in the opera, and to encounter John Relyea's Inquisitor - I decided to leave. At any rate, this spared me enduring the most offensive scene in all opera: the Auto-da-fé.
Metropolitan Opera House
Saturday December 3rd, 2022
DON CARLO
Giuseppe Verdi
Don Carlo...............Rafael Davila
Elizabeth of Valois.....Angela Meade
Rodrigo.................Peter Mattei
Princess Eboli..........Yulia Matochkina
Philip II...............Günther Groissböck
Grand Inquisitor........John Relyea
Celestial Voice.........Toni Marie Palmertree
Monk....................Alexandros Stavrakakis
Tebaldo.................Erika Baikoff
Count of Lerma..........Alok Kumar
Countess of Aremberg....Anne Dyas
Flemish Deputy..........Vladyslav Buialskyi
Flemish Deputy..........Le Bu
Flemish Deputy..........Jesus Vicente Murillo
Flemish Deputy..........Samuel J. Weiser
Flemish Deputy..........Luis Orozco
Flemish Deputy..........Joseph Lim
Royal Herald............Joshua Blue
Conductor...............Carlo Rizzi
~ Oberon