Ferruccio Furlanetto as Philipp II in Tokio, 2016. Photo Japan Arts
Verdi, Don Carlo
Mariinsky Theater on Tour, 2016
Ferruccio Furlanetto (Philipp II)
Young Hoon Lee (Don Carlo)
Alexei Markov(Rodrigo)
Victoria Yasutrebova (Elisabetta di Valois)
Julia Matochkina (Eboli)
Mikhail Petrenko (Grand Inquisitor)
Conductor - Valery Gergiev
DON CARLO IN TOKIO
On October 10 Ferruccio Furlanetto sang his favorite Philipp II in Don Carlo with Valery Gergiev and Mariinsky Theater Company on Tour in Japan, his performance captivated the public completely, it was huge applause and great success of the whole cast.
Music Director / Conductor: Valery Gergiev, Director - Giorgio Baruberio-Corsetti. In the main parts: Filipp II - Ferruccio Furlanetto, Don Carlo - Yonghoon Lee, Rodrigo - Alexei Markov, Grand Inquisitor - Mikhail Petrenko, Elisabetta di Valois - Victoria Yasutorebova, Eboli - Julia Matochkina.
During some filming for the video progections used in this Giorgio Barberio Corsetti staging Ferruccio Furlanetto gave brief interview to the music writer Hisae Odashima. He said that this Mariinsky theater production is convincing for him because of it's historical costumes. He never compromise his vision of Philipp II for the modern production.
To play a role with a such strong presence as Filippo II, is it also affecting the own life of a singer?
Furlanetto agrees that it is true. After 36 years passed from his first King Philipp in 1980, the character became much more warm, time also changed his feelings about death and interactions with the other characters. “Splendor of this role is that there is a new discovery every time. The discovery how life is reflected in the role, and also how the role in the opera also has an effect on the life given to go ... there is such interaction»
Furlanetto also spoke about Gergiev with whom he performed so many times: “He is a great musician, is also a close friend to me… it is a great pleasure to play with him. "
But the production which still most memorable for the great Italian bass is Salzburg Easter Festival Don Carlo in 1986 with Maestro Karajan. This performance changed his life and since then he keeps a wig of this Philippo as a good omen and always perform the role in it. “I don’t believe in omens, this wig is the only such a special thing" – adds Ferruccio Furlanetto.
Original material is here. Big interview done on telephone in Italian was also released in two parts on Japan Arts web site: