Giuseppe Verdi: Don Carlo – best recordings
Don Carlo might not be the most widely performed of Verdi’s operas, but it is easily one of my personal favorites. The story is intricate and compelling, seamlessly blending high-stakes politics with intimate human drama. Yet despite its complexity, it is thrilling from start to finish—Verdi masterfully uses his score to elevate the dramatic power of Schiller’s brilliant play.
This creates remarkably complex characters. Take Rodrigo, for instance, who is constantly torn between loyalty to the King, his deep personal friendship with Don Carlo, and his grand political ideals for Flanders. King Filippo II is equally fascinating—caught between his love for Elisabetta and his power struggle with the Church (his duet with the Grand Inquisitor is truly chilling). Don Carlo and Elisabetta are trapped in the middle, their tragic love crushed by the gears of high politics. And we should not forget Princess Eboli, a tragic figure whose unrequited love for Don Carlo and bitter jealousy ultimately bring the whole house of cards crashing down.
You should know that Don Carlo exists in many forms—four-act versions, five-act versions, in both French and Italian. But in the end, the exact version doesn’t matter too much to me. Don Carlo (or Don Carlos in French) is the very essence of what opera should be: the perfect fusion of theater, music, emotions, …
The score is full of highlights. Standouts include the clash between King Philip II and the Grand Inquisitor (“Nell’Ispano suol mai l’eresia dominò”), which demands two top basses. Then there are the three duets between Carlo and Elisabetta—especially their second duet (“Io vengo a domandar grazia alla mia regina”), which highlights Carlo’s passionate nature and shows how political reality destroys their love. Rodrigo’s first aria (“Signor, di Fiandra arrivo”) best captures his passionate spirit, in despite his political finesse. Eboli’s famous “O don fatale” reveals her deep tragic core. Ultimately, it’s a brilliant score where every piece of music brings the characters vividly to life.
When it comes to recordings, navigating the options can be tricky. In my view, the Solti recording is fantastic, even if Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau lacks a bit of authentic italianità. Giulini’s famous studio set is a bit of a disappointment for me, Abbado is good if opera is not only about singing for you, while Pappano delivers a vivid modern live performance. The first Santini recording remains a personal favorite despite its mono sound, as thrilling singing is important to me. For historic live performances, Fritz Stiedry’s Met recording featuring Jussi Björling and a young Cesare Siepi is fascinating.
| Recording | Artists | What I like | What I don’t like | So/So | Quality |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fritz Stiedry (1950) | Don Carlo: Jussi Björling Elisabetta: Delia Rigal Rodrigo: Robert Merrill Filippo II: Cesare Siepi Eboli: Fedora Barbieri | Björling, perfect as ever A very young Siepi with the right authority for Filippo Barbieri | The recording quality is quite historical Rigal (Good singing, but not very beautiful timbre to me) | Merril The recording is more on the voice side Stiedry conducts quite routinely | *** (live mono) |
| Gabriele Santini (1954) | Don Carlo: Mario Filippeschi Elisabetta: Antonietta Stella Rodrigo: Tito Gobbi Filippo II: Boris Christoff Eboli: Elena Nicolai | Glorious italian opera singing from the golden age Santini conducting | Nothing | Mono sound lacking details | ***** (Mono) |
| Carlo Maria Giulini (1958) | Don Carlo: Jon Vickers Elisabetta: Gré Brouwenstijn Rodrigo: Tito Gobbi Filippo II: Boris Christoff Eboli: Fedora Barbieri | Jon Vickers Gré Brouwenstijn Tito Gobbi Boris Christoff | Fedora Barbieri The recording quality is only a better historic live | Giulini | *** (live mono) |
| Gabriele Santini (1961) | Don Carlo: Flaviano Labò Elisabetta: Antonietta Stella Rodrigo: Ettore Bastianini Filippo II: Boris Christoff Eboli: Fiorenza Cossotto | Very good singing | Santinis differentiated conducting with less energy than 1954 | Nohting | *** (analogic stereo) |
| sir Georg Solti (1965) | Don Carlo: Carlo Bergonzi Elisabetta: Renata Tebaldi Rodrigo: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau Filippo II: Nicolai Ghiaurov Eboli: Grace Bumbry | The main singers but Fischer-Dieskau Solti’s energic conducting | Fischer-Dieskau (his voice is not italianate enough) | A little too late for Tebaldi, even if it remains a great performance | **** (analogic stereo) |
| Carlo Maria Giulini (1970) | Don Carlo: Placido Domingo Elisabetta: Montserrat Caballé Rodrigo: Sherrill Milnes Filippo II: Ruggero Raimondi Eboli: Shirley Verrett | The main singers are all good, but not as interesting as they could be | Giulini is to sophisticated here in my view, and misses the essence of opera. (On the overside, it may be seen as interesting by some of you) The “Grande Inquisitor” is vocally not convincing A lot of surprinsingly unprecise playing (intonations, …) | Nothing | *** (late analogic stereo) |
| Claudio Abbado (1984) | Don Carlos: Placido Domingo Elisabeth: Katia Ricciarelli Rodrigue: Leo Nucci Philippe II: Ruggero Raimondi Eboli: Lucia Valentini Terrani | Domingo Abbado (sophisticated, but with drive in the conducting) | No French native speaker | The singing is very good, but not on the level of the decades before. The Focus of this recording is more on the orchestral side French Version with appendix | **** (early digital) |
| Antonio Pappano (1996) | Don Carlos: Roberto Alagna Elisabeth: Karita Mattila Rodrigue: Thomas Hampson Philippe II: José van Dam Eboli: Waltraud Meier | Pappano’s conducting (less sophisticated than Abbado, but more vivid) Good modern singing with quite accurate French (even for the foreigners) | Nothing | It’s a live with some imperfections French version | **** (modern live recording) |