Tom's Life Bits

By DAVID A. ROSENBERG, NY Times

It is 4 1/2 hours of glorious music, pitiless drama, themes as contemporary as today, incisive direction and world-class singing actors. What more can one hope for?

“Don Carlo” at the Met Opera makes one glad to be alive and living in the East.

The new production of this exciting work (co-produced with London's Royal Opera House and the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet) is directed by Nicholas Hytner of London's National Theater. He has always had a flair for isolating characters, even amidst crowds, showing how lost they become in the great, vacant caverns of history. That virtue is in top form here.

Verdi's five act masterpiece, based on Friedrich Schiller's play, was first seen in Paris (in French) in 1867, then in Milan (in Italian) in 1884. Actually, it takes place mostly in Spain in 1560 and tells of various conflicts: personal vs. political, church vs. state, father vs. son.

The Spanish king, Philip II, has signed a peace treaty with France that includes his marrying Elisabeth, the French king's daughter. Trouble brews at the outset: Philip's son, Carlo, had been pledged to Elisabeth and, when they meet at last, it's love at first sight. But state needs trump private ones and Elisabeth is carried off. In one telling directorial gesture, she reaches back to grasp Carlo's portrait, a move that will later lead to condemnation.

Seeking solace, Carlo prays at the tomb of his grandfather, Emperor Charles V, where he recalls stories that say Charles 's ghost walks the monastery halls. Here he meets his friend Rodrigo, who will enlist Carlo in the cause to free the oppressed Protestant people of Flanders, which Catholic Philip rules.

Hytner hints at a relationship beyond friendship between the two men, something neglected in other productions. Indeed, the duet between Carlo and Rodrigo, “God that inspires love,” is a recurring leitmotif in an opera that has fewer outright “tunes” than other Verdi works.

The duet also sets up the conflict between earthly and godly love. There's much about finding peace and happiness not in “earthly misery” but “only in heaven.” Yet, for all its religious implications, the opera, at least for present-day audiences, seems to trumpet hope and freedom in the now, something the Inquisition is determined to eradicate.

There's so much more, of course (remember: 4 1/2 hours) including jealousy, betrayal by Elisabeth's attendant Princess Eboli, an auto-da-fé and rebellion. The first scene of Act IV remains one of the most magnificent in all opera, beginning with Philip's soliloquy about his agony at realizing Elisabeth doesn't love him. Then comes the memorable clash between two basses, Philip and the doddering Grand Inquisitor, and the rich quartet that follows.

As Carlo, Roberto Alagna starts insecurely, but becomes a figure of sensitivity and heroism. Marina Poplavskaya is a soaring Elisabeth, while Simon Keenlyside shows what a fine actor he is as Rodgrigo and Anna Smirnova is an alternately gutsy and tense Eboli. But the evening's highlight is the superb Ferruccio Furlanetto as the tormented Philip, singing with enormous power, avoiding outright villainy and infusing the authoritarian figure with tragic humanity. His duet with Eric Halfvarson as the vehement Grand Inquisitor is chilling.

As passionately conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, this is an evening to excite the senses. Its gold, black and red color scheme not only reinforces ideas of how the heart connects realms of heaven and earth but how the mighty crush the spirit of those with whom they disagree.

“Don Carlo” is at the Met Opera, Lincoln Center, N.Y. through Dec. 18. Call (212) 362-6000 or visit www.metopera.org