Verdi: Don Carlos (complete opera); Alagna, Hampson, van Dam
Don Carlosexists in several versions, in French or Italian  (Don Carlo, in five acts or four. This recording (five acts in French)  uses the original version composed by Verdi for a premiere at the Paris Opera in  1867. It is longer than the 1883 revision (four acts in Italian), but longer  means better when we talk about Verdi's music, and the French prologue gives a  more concrete understanding of why Don Carlos loves his stepmother, Queen  Elisabetta, with a more than filial affection. There are show-stopping arias and  duets galore, a striking scene in which the Inquisition burns a group of  Protestants, echoes of revolt in the Spanish Empire, and poignant reflections on  lost love. It is an opera whose true greatness is not yet fully appreciated by  many Verdi fans, but this eloquent recording should help remedy that.--Joe  McLellan