Verdi: Don Carlos

A very important live recording from 1950, in decent sound, of a great performance of Verdi’s finest opera, notable above all for Jussi Björling’s heroic Carlo, but also with a magnificent Cesare Siepi as Philip II. The women are slightly less impressive, but I was stunned afresh by the work’s grandeur. Michael Tanner

Our rating

5

Michael Tanner

Published: January 20, 2012 at 4:22 pm

COMPOSERS: Verdi
LABELS: WHRA
WORKS: Don Carlos
PERFORMER: Cesare Siepi, Jussi Björling, Robert Merrill, Jerome Hines; Metropolitan Opera Chorus & Orchestra/Fritz Stiedry
CATALOGUE NO: 6021

A very important live recording from 1950, in decent sound, of a great performance of Verdi’s finest opera, notable above all for Jussi Björling’s heroic Carlo, but also with a magnificent Cesare Siepi as Philip II. The women are slightly less impressive, but I was stunned afresh by the work’s grandeur. Michael Tanner

Michael Tanner

Journalist and Critic, BBC Music Magazine

Michael Tanner is a critic for BBC Music Magazine and the opera critic of The Spectator. He is now a fellow of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, having lectured in the Philosophy faculty at the University of Cambridge for 36 years. In 2010, he released The Faber Pocket Guide to Wagner.
This website is owned and published by Our Media Ltd. www.ourmedia.co.uk
© Our Media 2024