Don Carlo

Don Carlo

Don Carlo is one of the most enigmatic, yet compelling operas Verdi ever composed. The (largely ctional) story takes place in mid-1500s Spain and is loosely based on historical characters after Schiller’s play Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien. The complex plot weaves together a number of personal, political, religious and moral conflicts, wrapping them up in a climactic ending which conveys a thrill of the supernatural. There are four versions of Don Carlo, all personally revised by Verdi. The first is a five-act grand opéra in French (Paris 1867); the second, a five-act Italian version (Naples 1872), was shortened to four acts for Milan in 1884. The present production at La Fenice, where the opera premiered in 1869, follows the 1884 version.