BWW Reviews: Opera Australia's DON CARLOS Is A Feast For The Senses

Tuesday 14th July 2015, 7pm, Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House

Opera Australia pairs the beautiful grandeur of 17th Century Spain with Giuseppe Verdi's fabulous score as they bring DON CARLOS back to the Sydney Opera House. A combination of fact and fiction, loosely based on the real Carlos, Prince of Asturias, challenges of love, loyalty, betrayal, and faith play out in the moving music under the baton of Andrea Licata.

Altering the timeline of history, Director, Elijah Moshinsky has set DON CARLOS approximately a century later than the real Carlos lived, drawing on the exaggerated lighting and intense emotion of the Baroque paintings of Diego Rodriguez de Silvia y Velázquez. The tomb of the Charles V, Carlos' grandfather, opens the opera with the ornate high tribute carved in the same black marble as the cloisters, peering out the darkness under the bold beam of light that welcomes what appears to be a ghostly white, aging monk (David Parkin as Ghost of Charles V). The sensationalism of the art carries through to the costuming with the opulent, exaggerated corseted dresses with impractical cartwheel farthingale panniers and men in baggy breeches and short coats of velvets and ribbons with stark white collars.

Whilst some of the storyline centres about forbidden love, DON CARLOS differs from many other operas in its inclusion of other conflicts that stand alone from the romance. Don Carlos (Diego Torre) meets challenges with his relationship with his friend, Rodrigo, Marquis of Posa, (José Carbó) who betrays him for an elevation to title of Duke in King Phillip II's court. He must contend with the reality that his father, King Phillip II of Spain(Ferruccio Ferlanetto), has married his intended, Elisabeth de Valois, a French princess (Latonia Moore) and that his father's persecution of the Flemish will lead him to challenging his father. King Phillip II deals with the realisation that his wife is not in love with him and the challenge of relying on the church and the aging, blind, Grand Inquisitor (Daniel Sumegi) for advice. Princess Eboli, an aristocrat in the court and King Phillip's mistress, (Milijana Nikolic) faces the realisation that her romances lack substance as she believes Carlos to be in love with her, and is not King Phillip II's priority.

Torre captures the range of Don Carlos' emotions from the disbelief of meeting the apparition in the tomb, the uplifting support of his friendship with Rodrigo, the unrealised love of Elizabeth and his anger at King Phillip II. As Don Carlos and Rodrigo sing of their friendship, Torre's tenor blends with Carbó's baritone with rich tones and clean phrasing. In addition to Carbó's duets with Torre and trio with Nikolic's Princess Eboli, his aria as Rodrigo is dying is moving in its purity and emotion. Similarly, Furlanetto's interpretation of Phillip II's realisation that his wife does not love him is filled with pain and anger as he confronts Elizabeth. Moore conveys Elisabeth's longing for her home country of France with poignant reminiscence and resignation to the life she has found herself in. Nikolic's Moorish Veil song with Elizabeth's page, Tebaldo (Anna Dowsley) is light and playful as she entertains the ladies passing time in the cloisters, in comparison to the raw emotion she expresses as she seeks to expose Elizabeth and Don Carlo's affair following the realisation that she has misread the signs of affection.

Whilst there are many stories woven together, there are opportunities for the grand opera spectacles with extravagant sets, heaving with a huge cast as the city prepares to witness an Auto-da-f é, a public ritual of dealing with the condemned heretics. Priests, monks, nuns mix with the commoners and nobility as they view the parade of those deemed guilty by the Church led Inquisition. The monochromatic palette of the crowd is in contrast to the King and his guards gleaming armour and the sumptuous fabric of the aristocrats and royals. Huge gilded doors ensure light bounces around the dark space, capturing the mood of the paintings that would detail the variety of activity taking place in the background.

DON CARLOS is a moving work that will appeal to both seasoned opera fanatics but also people wanting to experience the art form for the first time. The story moves with an engaging pace and the music colours the story without the need to understand the language. The stories are simple and cover more than just a thwarted love. It's also refreshing to have a storyline that calls on the male to sing a dying scene as opposed to the standard of a corseted leading lady, strewn on the floor or laying down in a sick bed, singing out a complex work whilst in unusual positions.

DON CARLOS

Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House

14th July - 15 August 2015

Photos: Jamie Williams

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