Riccardo Muti, Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala, Luciano Pavarotti, Daniela Dessi - Verdi: Don Carlo (2004/1992)

Those who know Zeffirelli's style won't be surprised by the conventionally lavish production, but it effectively evokes the atmosphere of religious oppression and personal antagonisms Verdi so unerringly depicts. The dark-hued, threatening setting fits Muti's energetic, rhythmically vital conception. He quickens the emotions in a peculiarly Italianate way, and throughout evinces a feeling for the colouring of the score. His reading is in turn a good background for some thoughtful and idiomatic singing.
Pavarotti delivers Carlo's music in a typically fervent manner, words ideally placed on the voice and his tone consistently firm and pliable. His girth makes him unconvincing as the small, lean, nervous Carlo of history, but his simple, sincere acting is its own advocate. Daniella Dessì looks the very image of the wronged, sympathetic Elisabetta and sings with feeling and good phrasing. Paolo Coni offers a concerned, upright Rodrigo, sung in warm tones though he sometimes loses focus under pressure. Zeffirelli's video direction is well fashioned and the sound picture catches the aural ambience of La Scala. As a whole, this is a vivid experience. (Gramophone Classical Music Guide)

Cast:
Don Carlo - Luciano Pavarotti
Filippo II - Samuel Ramey
Elisabetta di Valois - Daniela Dessi
Rodrigo, Marchese di Posa - Paolo Coni
La Principessa Eboli - Luciana D'Intino
Il Grande Inquisitore - Alexander Anisimov
Orchestra e Coro del Teatro alla Scala, Milano
Conductor - Riccardo Muti