This German-language performance of Don Carlo needn't apologize for any perceived absence of Italianate sensibility. The cast is drawn from singers of the highest caliber, all vocally at ease with the demands of Verdi’s writing, and the immediacy of the German text vividly underscores Schiller’s Gothic atmosphere while lending the drama considerable emotional weight. Helge Rosvaenge approaches the title role with thrilling abandon, clearly relishing every opportunity to display the freedom and brilliance of his upper register.

As Elisabetta, Tiana Lemnitz is radiant, her singing distinguished by poise and warmth; it is regrettable that her Act IV aria is not included among the excerpts. Margarete Klose contributes a richly earthy mezzo-soprano, crowned by an exhilarating command of the upper range, while Heinrich Schlusnus proves an equally compelling Rodrigo, marked by nobility of line and expressive restraint. Georg Hann, as Filippo, impresses through the evenness of tone maintained across his entire vocal range.