[Met Performance] CID:260780
Don Carlo {120} Metropolitan Opera House: 03/10/1980.
(Review)
Metropolitan Opera House
March 10, 1980
In Italian
DON CARLO {120}
Giuseppe Verdi--François Joseph Méry/Camille du Locle
Don Carlo...............Giuseppe Giacomini
Elizabeth of Valois.....Gilda Cruz-Romo
Rodrigo.................Sherrill Milnes
Princess Eboli..........Tatiana Troyanos
Philip II...............Nicolai Ghiaurov
Grand Inquisitor........Jerome Hines
Celestial Voice.........Therese Brandson
Friar...................John Cheek
Tebaldo.................Alma Jean Smith
Forester................Peter Sliker
Count of Lerma..........Dana Talley
Countess of Aremberg....Barbara Greene
Herald..................Timothy Jenkins
Conductor...............James Levine
Review of Speight Jenkins in the Post
Met 'Carlo' a powerhouse
The grandeur and excitement of the Metropolitan Opera's revival of "Don Carlo" continue even with some substantial cast changes.
New to the cast last night was the Bulgarian bass Nicolai Ghiaurov, whose Philip has set the world standard for the last 13 years. Though his voice was not quite as powerful as it was a few years ago, it still suggests black gold - of the highest grade.
Gilda Cruz-Romo, who sang Elizabeth on last season's Met tour, brought her powerful, generally well-produced soprano to the Queen's role. Hers was a strong Verdian interpretation, lacking ideal expressiveness but phrased intelligently. Not a great actress, she moved little but sensibly.
As Don Carlo, Giuseppe Giacomini had more than a little pitch trouble though he improved after a thorny [first] scene. His overall dramatic feeling for the character was surer than it was last season.
The score was brilliantly realized by James Levine and his splendid orchestra. Sherrill Milnes created an unusually striking Rodrigo, Tatiana Troyanos sang an even better Eboli than before, and Jerome Hines seemed the vocal and theatrical embodiment of the Grand Inquisitor.
The length and organization of "Don Carlo" allowed me to hear both the whole of the concert reviewed below and almost half the opera.