Meier seems a bit mannered at times but she pulls off the big moments fairly spectacularly. Halfvarson is a stentorian and truly creepy Inquisitor. The chemistry between Hampson and Alagna is excellent and their voices blend well. She is especially ravishing in the final scene where “Toi qui sus le néant” brought the house down. I’ve seen her only in heavier roles and I really had no idea she could sing so beautifully too. All of the singers (except Halfvarson) tend to the light but beautiful end of the spectrum for their voice type and it all makes for an experience that seems especially apt for the french text. Musically this is a really good performance. Bondy gets pretty impressive performances out of his players, creates some interesting stage pictures in the crowd scenes and doesn’t over egg the auto da fe. There’s no high concept here so the whole thing turns on the Personenregie and, of course, the music. That sounds negative but it’s actually just undistracting.

There are nods to the 16th century but the women’s gowns could be any period or none, the Flemish deputies wear the sort of collar the vet puts on your pet after surgery and Alagna looks like he’s stepped out of Pirates of the Caribbean. Costumes (Moidele Bickel) are a sort of historical eclectic. The set designs (Gilles Aillaud) are slightly stylized but essentially literal, simple and easy on the eye. Anthony Pappano conducts the Orchestre de Paris. Robert Alagna sings the title role, Thomas Hampson is Posa, Karita Mattila (looking very young!) is Elisabeth de Valois, José van Dam is Philip, Eric Halfvarson sings the Grand Inquisitor and, rather unexpectedly, Waltraud Meier is Eboli. There’s no useful documenation so I can’t be sure.

It’s billed as the original 1867 five act version but I think some of the 1883 cuts are made. The one reviewed here is a 1996 Luc Bondy production from the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. There aren’t too many examples of the French version of Verdi’s Don Carlos on DVD.

Don carlos met opera review