Well, hello there! I realize that the last time I wrote
something meaningful was on the last day of 2014 and, after a whole year’s
silence, I’m finally back, so, cue the drum roll! Or not. Whatever. Anyway,
first things first: Happy 2016 – although, so far it hasn’t been great; I mean,
c’mon, David Bowie AND Alan Rickman have already died? Both at the age of 69
and because of cancer? It’s 2016 for crying out loud! Why have we not
discovered a cure for cancer yet? I guess we are way too busy doing other
things, like fighting wars against terrorism and such. I suppose it makes
sense. The statistical probabilities of dying in a terrorist attack these days
has increased exponentially – even for us Europeans. But, if there is one thing
I have learned through art, it is that we should not stop living our lives
because of the fear. So, yes, I am still here, still reporting on my great
love: opera.
As to why I disappeared for a year? I do have a pretty
good explanation: I had to write my master’s thesis (which, at some point I am
going to upload to Academia.edu for anyone crazy enough to read it) so now I am
officially a Master of Arts! Congratulations me! I do not even know what it
means to be a “Master of Arts”. Additionally, after completing my studies, I got
into an incredible inspirational trip. I started writing again (not on the
blogosphere obviously), but for myself. I rediscovered my passion for short
stories and I even started a somewhat longer one. I do not have to tell you
that you will probably never read those, because I am not sure what to do with
them (once I’ve finished them, which, I have not…); but still, I did some
writing. And finally, 2015 was one hell of a culture experience for me here,
because I had a totally booked out schedule and it was brilliant! I can tell
you, I have never felt more alive than last year – despite the fact that I am
still single! So, yes, 2015 was a good year for me, but now it is finally time
to get down to business once more.
I vaguely remember promising a new list. And today I am
going to make good by that promise by introducing the new Top 10 of Operas I
Love to Hate! First up on this lovely countdown is a masterpiece by Giuseppe
Verdi: Don Carlos!
SPOILERS, OBVIOUSLY!!!
Ok, so, you know that saying about opera being where
the soprano and the tenor want to have sex but the baritone interferes? Well,
in this case, it is the bass who is responsible and for a completely idiotic
reason too (he gets to sing one brilliant aria, that’s it). The plot is actually
quite simple (based loosely on historical facts): Don Carlos (the tenor), Heir
to the throne of Spain and son of King Philippe II (the bass), is supposed to
marry Elisabeth de Valois (the soprano) to seal a certain peace treaty.
Naturally, and even though these two fall in love at the beginning, Philippe II
behaves like an a** and decides he wants to marry Elisabeth instead. He could
easily be her grandfather, the age difference is so huge! And, there is no
reason why his marriage to her would seal the treaty better than if his son
married her, because Carlos is his heir! So, yeah, Philippe II is just being
mean. There are some other characters that complicate matters as well: first
you have Rodrigo, the Marquis of Posa, who – and that is definitely not just my
idea – has a huge crush on Carlos. Yes, they are best friends, but his idea of
friendship, I am certain, goes a bit further than Carlos’. And then there is
Eboli, who serves no purpose whatsoever in the entire plot, even though there
is great potential for the character. She too sings a fairly famous and
recognizable aria at some point.
Anyway, let’s do a short character breakdown. First we
have Don Carlos. He is a bit of a pawn and doesn’t get much done. He loves
Elisabeth and he succeeds in staying away from her after she becomes his
step-mother. They do have the occasional interactions, but they are not in the
least bit erotic or anything. Mainly, because she shuts him down, like, all the
time. Then, there is his relationship with Rodrigo. He sees a friend in him and
is too innocent to conceive his friends’ true feelings for him (I mean, how much
more evidence does a guy need than their famous duet???) He turns a cold
shoulder to Eboli – who is infatuated with him, but has no idea how to show it;
and he hates his father for stealing his bride right under his nose. Most of
the time, Carlos behaves like a teenager; literally!
Then there is Philippe II. There are no redeeming
qualities to this guy. He steals his son’s bride; he refuses any help to the
oppressed in Flanders; he condemns his son to death at the Grand Inquisitor’s
suggestion; and he still wonders why nobody – especially Elisabeth – loves him!
Granted, his monologue is sublime, but, with the deepest apologies to Verdi,
who, if anything, knows exactly how to redeem a fallen character through his
music, the trick doesn’t work this time. Philippe II remains an a**hole.
Rodrigo, then, the Marquis of Posa, is perhaps the
actual political hero here. He is a supporter of the Flemish cause, but knows
how to be diplomatic about it and behaves accordingly. Of course, he dies in
the end and what a death it is too! His death simply solidifies my opinion that
Rodrigo and Carlos should be lovers, actually, because Rodrigo dies in Carlos
place and in his arms. I mean, how much more obvious can it get? And that duet!
My God, I melt every time I hear it, it is such glorious music!
Moving on, there is Eboli, who, as I have already
stated, harbors a secret crush on Carlos. But because her feelings are not
reciprocated, she devises a plan to reveal his affections for his step-mother
to the King. Now, there is another – subtler – love story going on here as
well: Eboli is Elisabeth’s lady-in-waiting sort of. They are relatively close. And
when Eboli realizes that she has condemned not only Carlos but Elisabeth
through her actions, she decides to join a convent. So, maybe, Eboli too
harbors some feelings for Elisabeth and not just Carlos (or maybe I am
overreaching here, but it does make some sense). However, considering that her
character is completely underused in the entire plot, there is no concrete
evidence. Bottom line: Eboli is redundant in this storyline. She does sing
this, however:
Then there is the Spanish Inquisition. One thing I absolutely
love about this opera is the "Auto-da-fé", the infamous
burning of the heretics in the third Act! It is simply brilliant and terrifying
to be reminded of these dark times of the past, which are becoming once again
terribly contemporary if one takes a glance towards the Middle East and what rages
on down there. Trust me, the difference between the Spanish Inquisition and the
religious fanaticism practiced by some people today, is literally nothing – not
even the religion! Essentially it comes down to the same thing: murdering
people for having an opinion not sanctioned by the respective religious
leaders! And the Grand Inquisitor who advises the King to execute his own son
is also an extreme example of the Church’s powers. Simply terrifying! (The following video is the "safe" American version of old - nothing like the stuff you might get to see on German stages these days... Guess which one I prefer!)
Finally,
we have Elisabeth of Valois. You know my affinity for strong female characters,
and she is one of them, although it may not seem so at first. You could accuse
her of being too frightened to follow her heart when she learns of her
impending marriage to Philippe II. But let us not forget that Elisabeth is the
ultimate pawn here: she is the sacrificial lamb – she has no choice, but to do
as ordered. Instead of beginning an adulterous affair with her step-son,
however, which would have been the logical thing to do after her marriage, she
is faithful to Philippe II, not out of love, but out of a sense of duty.
Elisabeth succeeds in remaining innocent throughout the entire opera – which should
earn her some respect. And, of course, she has a showstopper at the beginning
of Act five that simply brings the house down (if sung well).
And then
there is the ghost! Ok, the debate on whether it is actually the ghost of the
deceased Carlos IV, grandfather to Carlos, or a monk who just happens on the
scene is still going on, but I’m going with the version that says it is,
because what else would make this opera even grittier than a ghost come to
rescue his grandson! I do not know what kind of a rescue that is, but hey,
ghosts know better and we are not to argue with them.
So, yes,
Verdi’s Don Carlos is a weird case. There are a lot of problems with the
source material too: do you do the French or the Italian version? Do you
include the Fontainebleau scene or not? Let me tell
you, without it, the opera simply doesn’t make sense. So far, the best production
I have seen is the one from Munich by Jürgen Rose (the man is a genius, by the
way). Would I go see this opera often? Only if Anja Harteros were singing
Elisabeth (I have seen her three times in this role so far), because, even
though there are some pretty amazing pieces in it, it is a really long and
pointless story in the end. So, there you have it! Don Carlos is great,
but only under certain conditions…
