Don Carlo

Saw Verdi's Don Carlo on Wednesday.  It was a large ensemble.  Singers all performed well in various degrees.

My favorite was Princess Eboli performed by Jamie Barton.  She did a fantastic job in singing and performed with a total passion.  Leah Crocetto played Elisabeth of Valois.  She did as well as what I expected. Eric Owens played Philip II.  As always, he did a great job in singing with all the nuances of passion flowing through his mellow voice.  Quinn Kelsey did a decent job in interpreting the role of Marquis of Posa.  The Grand Inquisitor played by Andrea Silvestrelli was fun.  I did not particularly care about the quality of his voice but he got a great stage presence.  His voice quality matched well with the role.  Russel Thomas who played Don Carlo was rather weak in both singing and performing. His voice was a bit thin on that night.  He performed in a rather detached way so that I felt a bit distance from his supposed emotion for the role.


It was a full house because the whole theatre complex was full of lines/people for getting the ticket of Hamilton.  This was the ticket sale for members only, imagining what would be like if it opens sale for the general public!  I never saw any mob scene like this.  People started to wait outside at 4AM before the door opened at 10AM.  The lady sitting next to my seat told me she came at 8:00AM.  After eight hours' waiting, the only tickets left were those with the price tag of $600+.  I'm glad I decided early on to pass this one.  With all the effort going into getting the ticket, the expectation gets to be sky high, a perfect condition for a huge disappointment.