The action is nonstop and the music is prime Verdi in the opera "Don Carlo," which will be shown tonight on cable TV (Bravo, at 9; repeat at 2 a.m.) in a lavish 1986 production from the Salzburg Festival conducted and directed by Herbert von Karajan. Style and values have changed rapidly and drastically in Salzburg since the death of von Karajan, who had dominated it for decades, but his legacy has been preserved in an enormous catalogue of video recordings (concert and opera) that are begin ning to appear on cable and in home video formats. Exercising full control of the theatrical and the musical dimensions of these productions, von Karajan was obviously aiming at a sort of immortality, and he may achieve it with some items

This "Don Carlo" is a fair sample of his work, with the Berlin Philharmonic in the pit and a cast mostly of international headliners: Ferruccio Furlanetto brilliant and moving as King Philip II; José Carreras giving an understated but solid performance in the title role; the relatively unfamiliar but excellent Fiamma Izzo d'Amico as Philip's young wife, Elisabeth, who is hopelessly in love with Carlo; Agnes Baltsa as the hot-blooded Princess Eboli; Piero Cappuccilli as Carlo's friend Rodrig o; and Matti Salminen as the Grand Inquisitor. It is a cast to set any opera conductor dreaming, and von Karajan has it completely under his control -- every gesture and intonation precisely calculated.

The virtues of a von Karajan performance add up to a kind of perfection that can be achieved only by accepting certain limitations. This is a performance to inspire admiration more than excitement, but those who prize clarity, polish and control will be delighted with it. Less present are some things that many fans treasure in performances of Verdi: passion, spontaneity, the feeling that the performers are taking risks, stretching themselves to their limits and perhaps a bit beyond. It is a good style for "Der Rosenkavalier," but one may prefer more agitation in Verdi, even at the cost of some overstatement and occasional inaccuracies.

The von Karajan approach is highly suitable, however, for home video; it eliminates little flaws that can be overlooked in a single hearing but may become irritating when heard again and again. The von Karajan style works well in some scenes -- Philip's dialogue with the Grand Inquisitor, for example, or the enormous spectacle of the auto-da-fe scene; less well in moments of passion or intimacy, such as Carlo's duets with Rodrigo, with Eboli and with the queen.

Von Karajan (like the Washington Opera last season) uses the four-act revision that had its premiere at La Scala in 1884 rather than the five-act original, which premiered in Paris in 1867. The time thus saved is not inconsiderable, but some beautiful music, intense emoting and useful background are left out. Those who would like to see the five-act version performed with heart-on-sleeve intensity should look up the Metropolitan Opera production, available in home video formats. Meanwhile, this is a "Don Carlo" well worth seeing.

Copyright © 1992 The Washington Post