Opera review: Don Carlo
Royal Opera House, London WC2
Performance date:
Rating: **** (out of 5)
Review by: Alexa Williamson
Directed by The National Theatre’s Nicholas Hytner, this four-hour long piece by Guiseppe Verdi (written in 1867) has received excellent reviews and was a complete sell-out.
Telling a love story against the backdrop of political turmoil, it recalls the tragic and bittersweet romance of Don Carlo of Spain and Elisebeta de Valois of France. Although they fall in love in the first scene of Act 1 and are initially promised to each other, Elisabeta later is betrothed to his father, King Philip II, to ensure that there is peace between France and Spain.
The rest of the opera follows their struggle to deny their love – and in doing so – Don Carlo’s exile to Flanders and, finally, their near deaths (as Don Carlo tries to help in the country’s liberation).
Set against minimal sets, this is a lovely piece with powerful singing from its two main stars Rolando Villazon as Don Carlo and Marina Poplavskaya as Elisabeta and the acting also makes it an enthralling four hours. For fans that go purely for the storyline and beautiful verse by this master, then it deserves a full five stars. However, for those of us who prefer the lavish traditional sets – or at least innovative modern ones – then this loses a star as the minimalist sets chosen for this performance were quite bland and looked odd in comparison to the traditional costumes worn.
More information:
Don Carlo (Wikipedia)
Royal Opera House (Official site)
