Chandos continues to expand its series of opera in English with Verdi's Don Carlos. The production uses the standard Italian four-act version as its basis. Andrew Porter's translation is unfailingly intelligent and even poetic, but this is not a piece that sits entirely comfortably in translation, and there are many stretches when it's difficult to catch the words without looking at the printed text. The recitatives, unsurprisingly, are the easiest parts to understand. Enough is clear, though, to make it worthwhile for English-speaking fans of the opera to hear it in their native language. The singing, however, makes this a version that is not likely to displace a favorite performance in Italian (or French). All the soloists are entirely respectable, very fine, in fact, and there are no weak links to drag down the general level of the production. This is not a cast, however, to stand up the standards of a top-drawer international production, but
Alastair Miles as Philip stands out for his resonant and nuanced performance, and
John Tomlinson is a magisterial Grand Inquisitor.
Richard Farnes leads the Orchestra and Chorus of Opera North in a nicely supple reading of the score, but doesn't provide a clear sense of the opera's larger dramatic arc. The sound is clean, but the balance tends to favor the orchestra, and there are moments when it threatens to overwhelm the voices.