“What a day, what a day for an auto-da-fé” sings the chorus in Bernstein's Candide, “It's a lovely day for drinking and for watching people fry!” The Royal Opera Chorus even tweeted this lyric yesterday ahead of its participation in opera's other auto-da-fé, Verdi's Don Carlo. Yet this third revival of Nicholas Hytner's 2008 production was a flameless affair without a single barbecued heretic. Has Health and Safety finally caught up with the Spanish Inquisition?
This is one of a few tweaks to this scene, with the screen depicting Christ's face streaked with blood replaced by a dais for twin thrones, Jesus half-smilingly looking down on the royal couple. Excising the bonfire leaves the Act 3 finale underwhelming, particularly when the Voice of Heaven was so poorly miked. On the plus side, the Priest Inquisitor now mutely delivers his roll call rather than noisily inviting the heretics to repent, but the chorus still jeers and hisses loudly. Elsewhere, Hytner's production remains impressive, closely related to Schiller in feel, as one would expect from someone who directed the play on which Verdi's opera was based. Hytner takes the convoluted strands of political and personal relationships in 16th-century Spain and knots them superbly. Bob Crowley's imposing sets help create a claustrophobic court in which it's easy to imagine intimate conversations being overheard, although the cardboard cut-out trees and Lego-brick construction in the gardens of San Yuste are a little too stylized for some tastes. Mark Henderson's atmospheric lighting is especially strong in the monastery scenes, shafts of light piercing the cloisters like daggers.
During rehearsals this revival suffered a couple of high profile withdrawals, so it's understandable that some of the performances didn't really gel on opening night, while others took their time to hit their stride. The one glorious exception was Bryan Hymel, making his role debut as the Infante Don Carlo. In terms of musical material, the title role is outgunned by all the other principals; after his brief aria “Io lo vidi”, Carlo exists mostly in duet – three big scenes with his intended-bride-turned-stepmother Elisabetta and the great friendship duet with Rodrigo, Marquis of Posa. Yet Hymel outshone everyone, his bright tone ratcheted up to full throttle, the slight sob in the voice helping depict the character's neurotic instability. I'm less sure about the interpolated high note thrown in at the end of the friendship duet (following Franco Corelli's lead) but Hymel's performance was tremendously exciting.