It’s a tale of lost love, jealousy, and the Inquisition on this week’s Sunday Opera (2/2 3:00 p.m.) with Giuseppe Verdi’s 1867 opera “Don Carlo.” In its full five-act form, the opera begins with Don Carlo and Elisabetta de Valois embracing their arranged marriage, only to have it taken away from them when Elisabetta is instead promised to Don Carlo’s father, Philip II. Include the jealous Princess Eboli and the Grand Inquisitor, and the result is a thrilling afternoon of great singing and deep emotion. The cast in this recording from 1966 includes beloved singers who aren’t heard nearly enough today.
Carlo Bergonzi is Don Carlo, Renata Tebaldi is Elisabetta, Nicolai Ghiaurov is Philip II, Grace Bumbry is Princess Eboli, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau is Rodrigo, and Martti Talvela is The Grand Inquisitor with Georg Solti conducting the Orchestra and Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. After the opera, host Michael Kownacky has scheduled a recording of the third act ballet “La Peregrina” which is almost always cut from "Don Carlo" when it is produced.
