Don Carlo (1983)

Ghiaurov Freni and Bumbry were great voices in their time and they are still effective here good enough musicians to put over the quite heavy vocal and expressive demands of their roles Louis Quilico was never quite in that league and he sounds a bit spread and woofy in places here but he works hard and effectively to bring Rodrigo to life Placido Domingo recorded his first Don Carlo for EMI with Giulini about 15 years before this production but he looks and sounds fine here in the early 1980s he was doing very good Otellos and Lohengrins too and Furlanetto still in his 30s brings a rich young voice to an old part and succeeds in making the Grand Inquisitor vocally as well as expressively formidable Levine brings both weight and energy to the score and that reading fits well with the overall traditional design and production the Mets wardrobe budget must have been severely taxed but everybody looks splendid