[Met Performance] CID:187470



Don Carlo
Metropolitan Opera House, Thu, March 16, 1961


In Italian



Don Carlo (53)
Giuseppe Verdi | Fran?ois Joseph M?ry/Camille du Locle list Italian text as translators?
Don Carlo
Eugenio Fernandi

Elizabeth of Valois
Mary Curtis-Verna

Rodrigo
Robert Merrill

Princess Eboli
Irene Dalis

Philip II
Giorgio Tozzi

Grand Inquisitor
William Wilderman

Celestial Voice
Martina Arroyo

Friar
Louis Sgarro

Tebaldo
Joan Wall

Count of Lerma
Gabor Carelli

Countess of Aremberg
Nancy King

Herald
Robert Nagy


Conductor
Nino Verchi


Production
Margaret Webster

Designer
Rolf G?rard





Translation by Lauzi?res, Zanardini
Don Carlo received five performances this season.

Review 1:

Review of Robert Sabin in Musical America
One of the most serious problems at the Metropolitan is preserving originally admirable productions from deterioration. And this revival of Verdi's superb opera after a season's absence was a saddening case in point The Gerard set and costumes were as beautiful as ever; the basic outlines, of Margaret Webster's production were still sound; but the actual performance was ragged and undistinguished, with few exceptions.



One of the principal reasons for this was the conducting of Mr. Verchi, who was undertaking this work for the first time at the Metropolitan. What a descent from the masterly interpretation of Fritz Stiedry! Slovenly and pedestrian, the orchestra rose above the routine only in the last two acts.



There were some brighter sides. Mr. Tozzi's Philip, though not as searingly tragic and formidable as some we have had, was nonetheless a rich portrait, both vocally and dramatically. Miss Dalis made us sense Princess Eboli's passion and dark beauty, especially in
?O don fatale!? Mr. Wildermann was imposing as the repellent and fearsome old Inquisitor.



Mr. Merrill's Rodrigo has lost much of its original firmness of outline, and he went wandering into strange keys at the beginning of ?Per me giunto? as I heard him do once before at this same spot. It should be added that he was as prodigal of voice as ever.



As for Mr. Fernandi in the tide role, one can only deplore the fact that he is being given such roles at the Metropolitan before he is ready for them. Awkward and sometimes actually embarrassing in his acting, he is still insecure in pitch and crude in phrasing. The caress and warmth of his voice are constantly being blurred or destroyed by forcing or other crudities of technique. The situation is very unfair to him as well as to others. The Metropolitan is not a good training ground.



Miss Curtis-Verna gave a dependable and acceptable, if not distinguished, performance as Elisabetta, and a word of praise should go to three artists appearing in their roles for the first time: Miss Wall, Mr. Carelli, and Mr. Nagy (one of the most stentorian heralds the Metropolitan has ever boasted). Mr. Sgarro (apart from some strain in climaxes) was impressive as the Friar, and Miss Arroyo was a soaring, if not celestial, voice.
Review 2:

Paul Henry Lang in the Herald Tribune

?Don Carlo,? one of Verdi?s less popular operas, returned last night to the Metropolitan Opera?s repertory. This is one of those operas which Verdi reworked many years after its original composition, which indicates that its creator had not only faith in ?Don Carlo? but was eager to insure its viability. The refurbishing was done with the mature master?s sure hand, yet Verdi did not really lose the youthful qualities of ?Don Carlo,? though he could not remedy the static quality of the whole first third of the work, Still, its lack of popularity is unjustified.


This opera, which contains much great music, has power, tremendous power, and some of its characters, such as the King and the Grand Inquisitor, are among the truly great musico-dramatic portraits. Unfortunately, the character of the women ? and Don Carlo himself ? is less well delineated, though the Princess Eboli ends by rising to poignant heights.


When last heard a few years ago under Fritz Stiedry?s baton and produced by Margaret Webster, ?Don Carlo? was a thrilling experience. This time all we had left were the impressive sets and costumes designed by Rolf Gerard ? no authority was felt either on the stage or in the pit. The playbill listed no stage director and the singers gave the impression that they were indeed left to their own devices, while Nino Verchi, obviously officiating in the pit, was trying to cope with the musical equivalent of civil disobedience.


Nothing really clicked last night and one had the feeling that this is a get-acquainted meeting of singers and instrumentalists. The orchestra was at times loud and insecure, the fearful trombones in the third act dragged, while the stage trumpets jumped the gun. Even the fine and usually very reliable Met chorus was jittery; the beautiful polyphonic lines at the [beginning] of the second act were lost in the melee.


The Queen is such a shadowy figure that only a fine actress and good singer can make something out of the role. Mary Curtis-Verna?s personality is not positive enough for the task, and while her singing was orderly she does not communicate. Irene Dalis, whose Eboli was striking a few years aback was acceptable ? but that is not enough.


Eugenio Fernandi (Don Carlo) has a pleasant enough voice at midrange and under normal dynamic conditions, but the minute he starts on his unfortunate histrionic excursions sobbing and gulping ruins tone, color, and even pitch. And when he squeezes out the high and loud ones the listener is acutely distressed.


Giorgio Tozzi, the King, and William Wilderman, the Inquisitor finally brought some drama and good singing to the tepid scene, but even they were not at their best because the climate was not right for anyone. Robert Merrill?s fine voice did not desert him but at times he forfeited it for some realistic roaring which is misplaced in such an opera.


I guess, ?Don Carlo? was simply not ready to be exhibited; let us hope that with the cast announced for the next performance, and with a few extra rehearsals it will recapture its erstwhile brilliance.



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