The thing with tenors

17 Thursday May 2018

Posted by la Clarina in Things

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Attila, Characterization, Don Carlos, Il Trovatore, Opera, Samuel Ramey, tenors, Thomas Hampson, Turandot

I’ve had for years No Tenors Allowed, this lovely CD of opera duets for bass and baritone, with Thomas Hampson and Samuel Ramey singing a variety of pieces, from comic to dramatic to downright tragic – and clearly having great fun with the whole thing.

I love it to bits – but then again, not only Hampson and Ramey are two of my favourite opera singers ever, but I have always had a soft spot for bass and baritone voices – and characters. Continue reading →

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A glimpse of Don Carlos

08 Saturday Aug 2015

Posted by la Clarina in Theatre

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Boris Christoff, Conrad Veidt, Don Carlos, Friedrich Schiller, Giuseppe Verdi, images, Leyla Gencer, Wilhelm von Kaulbach, William Dieterle

For several reasons I was put in mind of Don Carlos, yesterday – both Schiller’s and Verdi’s. So I thought I’d post a few images…

Let us begin with the frontispiece of the first published version in Der Teutschen Merkur, in 1787.

Then a highly romanticized view of the eponymous hero in a 1859 engraving by Friedrich Precht.

About the same time, here is an illustration by Wilhelm von Kaulbach:

Now Conrad Veidt and William Dieterle as Carlos and Posa in the 1924 silent movie Carlos und Elisabeth:

And a 1936 Ukrainian production of the play:

And the opera? Here a 1963 production at La Scala, in Milan, with Leyla Gencer as Elisabeth:

And the great Boris Christoff as King Philip:

I find that both play and opera have fascinating histories… maybe we’ll talk about it, eh?