This CD offers only highlights from the EMI studio recording so if you want an abbreviated version of the same performance this is a must have. It was recorded in 1971 and all the singers are in glorious form- Placido Domingo's voice is elegant, rich dark and hefty, making every line and scena dramatically convincing as Don Carlos, the son of the imperious Spanish King Phillip, an idealist, a dreamer, a frustrated romantic. All these traits Domingo delivers in a performance that is unsurpassed. He was born to sing Don Carlos. Opposite Domingo's tour de force performance is the equally virtuosic Monsterrat Caballe. As Elisabeth De Valois, she is regal, grand and has a voice of graceful beauty and dark middle register that gleams with velvet orutund tones. She is every bit the Queen and her conflicted emotional state is well enacted. Caballe's performance is perhaps only rivaled by Katia Ricciarelli who sang it in its original French. But Caballe, always the Italian expert, knows how to bring this role to the most perfect degree of lyric drama. Shirley Verrett sings the mezzo role of Princess Eboli, the jealous princess and rival to the Queen. Her rendition of "O Don Fatale" is sensational. Her command of the role is impressive. She makes us sympathize with the heroine and she is truly one of the greater mezzos of the post World War II Era. This recording has to be her claim to fame at least on studio recording. Ruggero Raimondi sings the baritone role of the King Phillip. Raimondi has enough darkness and luminosity in the voice to essay the role with aplomb. He is delivering a sensational performance and he is paired well with Domingo in many scenes. Conductor Carlo Maria Giulini is a revelation as he treats the score with prowess and makes it a huge Italian epic that is more along the lines of Aida.

Don Carlos is a dark opera, perhaps Verdi's darkest. It is a melancholy, brooding piece of theater. Set in the dim Inquisition Era, politics mix with personal passions, religion clashes with state, and a young prince falls in love with his father's newest wife the Queen, his own stepmother. The music is a mixture of gloomy choruses and foreboding melodies with vibrant, elegant Verdian lines. The original French version was Verdi's entree to French Opera at the Paris Opera, the world's premier opera. His opera was a smash hit. It has never sounded better than on here. For the best French version listen to Placido Domingo and Katia Ricciarelli version with a cast that includes Luisa Valentini Terrani and Nicolai Ghiurov.

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EMI 1986. Made in W. Germany.

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Original CD. NOT PIRATED OR SELF-BURNT COPIES. As shown in the scanned pictures above. CD is in excellent condition - 9.5/10.

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