Like many contemporary theatres, it was destroyed by fire in 1873 but construction had already begun on a new theatre, designed by Charles Garnier, which opened in 1875 as the Palais Garnier, home to the Opéra de Paris for a hundred years. ‘Don Carlos’ was commissioned and produced by the Théatre Impérial de l’Opéra in Paris, and was played in the Salle le Peletier, which had been opened in 1821 and was the home of the Paris Opera at that time. I just love it!Īs I mentioned in my EMR article about Verdi, it is fascinating to see where Verdi premieres took place, as he was often commissioned to write for slightly obscure venues: ‘Aida’ in Cairo, ‘ La Forza del Destino’ in St Petersburg and ‘Rigoletto’ in La Fenice, Venice (not one of the Italian powerhouse theatres at the time) are but three of the more unusual places for Verdi opening nights.
All the major voice types are catered for (indeed there are three bass roles – a rare luxury), and each one has an aria or two which define that particular voice. Several of the roles are psychologically challenging and require seriously good singing actors to bring these characters to life. What is unarguable is that it contains some of Verdi’s greatest music, and is a hugely satisfying piece of theatre, mixing history with romance, love with hate, and cruelty with compassion. Premiered in Paris in March 1867, in a five act version in French, it underwent multiple changes and variations, and there is still no consensus on the definitive version of the opera. I wrote, previously, about my love for Wagner’s ‘Parsifal’, and now I would like to examine in more depth, ‘Don Carlos’, this work of Verdi’s maturity, arguably his finest before ‘Aida’, ‘Otello’ and ‘Falstaff’. This is a baritone aria, very powerful and dramatic, rising to a big top F sharp towards the end, a note I was not sure I possessed! However, and this is a better however, I know of several now mature ladies who still remember that night in George Square, Edinburgh, and it was an evening to savour, as I realised that my singing gave me a certain appeal to girls, a power of which I had hitherto been entirely unaware!
It was matched at the time only by my decision to sing Iago’s Credo, from Verdi’s ‘Otello’, at a Shakespeare Evening, organised by George Watson’s Ladies College Literary Club, in 1972. I must say, also, that I am somewhat ashamed that I actually sang it all those years ago, because it must have been pretty awful! One of the great arias of the operatic canon, arguably the finest bass aria ever written, sung by a fifteen year old boy with limited Italian it cannot have been much good. However, and you knew there would be a “however”, I have never sung the role of King Philip on stage, much to my regret.
I have sung it to get roles in the 21st century and have continued to sing it in concerts ever since. I sang it to gain my contract as a company bass with Scottish Opera in 1982, and 10 years later, in French (“ Elle ne m’aime pas”) to get a role at the Opéra de Paris at the Bastille. I sang it in concerts in St Andrews University, and to pass my audition to the Guildhall School of Music in 1978. I sang it to win the Moonie Memorial Singing Prize at George Watson’s College in Edinburgh in 1971, and then sang it at my first singing lesson with Joan Busby in 1972. Perhaps the one aria I have been singing longer than any other is “ Ella giammai m’amo” (She never loved me) from Giuseppe Verdi’s great opera, ‘Don Carlos’.
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