''Don Carlos'' is an 1867 five-act
grand opera
Grand opera is a genre of 19th-century opera generally in four or five acts, characterized by large-scale casts and Orchestra, orchestras. The original productions consisted of spectacular design and stage effects with plots normally based on o ...
composed by
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( ; ; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for List of compositions by Giuseppe Verdi, his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the province of Parma ...
to a French-language
libretto
A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...
by
Joseph Méry and
Camille du Locle, based on the 1787 play ''
Don Karlos, Infant von Spanien'' (''Don Carlos,
Infante
Infante (, ; f. ''infanta''), also anglicised as "infant" or translated as "prince", is the title and rank given in the Iberian kingdoms of Spain (including the predecessor kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, Navarre, and León) and Portugal to the ...
of Spain'') by
Friedrich Schiller
Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian. Schiller is considered by most Germans to be Germany's most important classical playwright.
He was born i ...
and several incidents from
Eugène Cormon's 1846 play ''Philippe II, Roi d'Espagne''. The opera is most often performed in Italian translation, usually under the title ''Don Carlo''.
The opera's story is based on conflicts in the life of
Carlos, Prince of Asturias
Don (title), Don Carlos, Prince of Asturias (8 July 154524 July 1568), was the eldest son and heir apparent of King Philip II of Spain. His mother was Maria Manuela of Portugal, daughter of John III of Portugal. Carlos was known to be mentally u ...
(1545–1568). Though he was betrothed to
Elisabeth of Valois, part of the peace treaty ending the
Italian War of 1551–59 between the Houses of
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...
and
Valois demanded that she be married instead to his father
Philip II of Spain
Philip II (21 May 152713 September 1598), sometimes known in Spain as Philip the Prudent (), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from 1580, and King of Naples and List of Sicilian monarchs, Sicily from 1554 until his death in 1598. He ...
. It was commissioned and produced by the Théâtre Impérial de l'Opéra (
Paris Opera
The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be kn ...
) and given its premiere at the
Salle Le Peletier
The Salle Le Peletier or Lepeletier (sometimes referred to as the Salle de la rue Le Peletier or the Opéra Le Peletier) was the home of the Paris Opera from 1821 until the building was destroyed by fire in 1873. The theatre was designed and con ...
on 11 March 1867.
The first performance in Italian was given at
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist sit ...
in London in June 1867. The first performance in Italy was in
Bologna
Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...
in October 1867, also in Italian translation. After some revisions by Verdi, it was performed in Italian in
Naples
Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...
in November/December 1872. Verdi was also responsible for a short four-act "Milan version" in which the first act was removed and the ballet omitted (composed to a French text, but first performed in
Milan
Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
in January 1884 in Italian translation) but also apparently approved a five-act "Modena version" in which the first act was restored but the ballet still omitted (performed in
Modena
Modena (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It has 184,739 inhabitants as of 2025.
A town, and seat of an archbis ...
in December 1886, also in Italian translation). Around 1970, substantial passages of music cut before the premiere were discovered in Paris archives, giving rise to at least one additional version that can be ascribed to Verdi: the version he prepared for the Paris Opera in 1866, before any cuts were made. No other Verdi opera exists in so many authentic versions. At its full length (including the ballet and the cuts made before the first performance), it contains close to four hours of music and is Verdi's longest opera.
[Budden 1981, pp. 23–25.]
Composition history
Pre-première cuts and first published edition

Verdi made a number of cuts in 1866, after finishing the opera but before composing the ballet, simply because the work was becoming too long.
These were a duet for Elisabeth and Eboli in Act 4, Scene 1; a duet for Carlos and the King after the death of Posa in Act 4, Scene 2; and an exchange between Elisabeth and Eboli during the insurrection in the same scene.
After the ballet had been composed, it emerged during the 1867 rehearsal period that, without further cuts, the opera would not finish before midnight (the time by which patrons would need to leave in order to catch the last trains to the Paris suburbs). Verdi then authorised some further cuts, which were, firstly, the introduction to Act 1 (with a chorus of woodcutters and their wives, and including the first appearance of Elisabeth); secondly, a short entry solo for Posa (''J'étais en Flandres'') in Act 2, Scene 1; and, thirdly, part of the dialogue between the King and Posa at the end of Act 2, Scene 2.
The opera was first published as given at the première and consisted of Verdi's original conception, without the music of the above-named cuts, but with the ballet.
In 1969, at a Verdi congress in
Verona
Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...
, the American musicologist
David Rosen presented the missing section from the Philip-Posa duet from the end of Act 2, which he had found folded down in the conductor's copy of the score. Other pages with cuts had simply been removed from the autograph score and the conductor's copy. Shortly thereafter, the British music critic
Andrew Porter found most of these other cut passages could be reconstructed from the individual parts, in which the pages with the "lost" music had been either "pasted, pinned or stitched down." In all, 21 minutes of missing music was restored.
[Porter, Andrew. "Musical Events: Proper Bostonian]
''The New Yorker'', 2 June 1973, pp. 102–108
Nearly all of the known music Verdi composed for the opera, including the pre-première cuts and later revisions, can be found in an integral edition prepared by the German musicologist
Ursula Günther
Ursula Günther (15 June 1927 – 20 or 21 November 2006) was a German musicologist specializing in the fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries and the music of Giuseppe Verdi. She coined the term , to categorize the rhythmically complex music tha ...
, first published in 1980 and in a second, revised version in 1986.
Performance history
19th century
As ''Don Carlos'' in French
After the première and before leaving Paris, Verdi authorised the Opéra authorities to end Act 4, Scene 2 with the death of Posa (thereby omitting the insurrection scene) if they thought fit. This was done, beginning with the second performance on 13 March, after his departure. Further (unauthorised) cuts were apparently made during the remaining performances. Despite a grandiose production designed by scenic artists
Charles-Antoine Cambon
Charles-Antoine Cambon (; 21 April 1802 – 22 October 1875) was a French scenographer, theatrical production designer, who acquired international renown in the Romanticism, Romantic Era.
Career
Little biographical information exists on Cambo ...
and Joseph Thierry (Acts I and III),
Édouard Desplechin
Édouard Desplechin His name is often spelt "Despléchin" » with an acute accent. (12 April 1802 – 10 December 1871), was a 19th-century French scenic designer, one of the most famous of his time.
Biography
He created numerous settings for ...
and
Jean-Baptiste Lavastre
Jean-Baptiste Lavastre (24 August 1839 – 24 April 1891) was a French landscape painter and scenic designer.
Biography
A student of Édouard Desplechin as soon as 1854 when he was only fifteen (and then his associate from 1864 to 1870), Je ...
(Acts II and V), and
Auguste Alfred Rubé
Auguste Alfred Rubé (20 June 1817 – 13 April 1899) was a French painter noted especially for his theatre decorations.
Biography
Born in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, Rubé was an innovator in the field of theatrical set design. This "dec ...
and
Philippe Chaperon
Philippe Chaperon (2 February 1823 – 21 December 1906) was a French painter and scenic designer, particularly known for his work at the Paris Opera. He produced stage designs for the premieres of numerous 19th-century operas, including Verdi's ...
(Act IV), it appears to have been a "problem opera" for the Opéra—it disappeared from its repertoire after 1869.
File:Marie Sasse as Elisabeth in Don Carlos, 1867 photograph by Numa Blanc – Gallica btv1b52502563r (adjusted).jpg, Marie Sasse as Elisabeth
File:Carlo V (basso), figurino di Alfred Albert per Don Carlos (1867) - Archivio Storico Ricordi ICON001220.jpg, Costume design for Charles V Charles V may refer to:
Kings and Emperors
* Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558)
* Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain
* Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise
Others
* Charles V, Duke ...
, act 5
File:Don Carlos poster.png, Poster depicting the death of Rodrigo in the King's presence
As ''Don Carlo'' in an Italian translation

It was common practice at the time for most theatres (other than those in French-speaking communities) to perform operas in Italian, and an Italian translation of ''Don Carlos'' was prepared in the autumn of 1866 by
Achille de Lauzières. On 18 November 1866 Verdi wrote to
Giovanni Ricordi, offering the Milan publisher the Italian rights, but insisting that the opera:
:must be performed in its entirety as it will be performed for the first time at the Paris Opéra. ''Don Carlos'' is an opera in five acts with ballet: if nevertheless the management of Italian theatres would like to pair it with a different ballet, this must be placed either before or after the uncut opera, never in the middle, following the barbarous custom of our day.
The Italian translation was first performed not in Italy but in London at the
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...
, Covent Garden on 4 June 1867, where it was produced and conducted by
Michael Costa. However, it was not as Verdi desired; the opera was given in a cut and altered form, with the first act removed, the ballet in Act 3 omitted, and Carlo's aria ''Io la vidi'' (originally in Act 1) moved to Act 3, just before the terzetto. Additionally, the duet between Philip and the Inquisitor was shortened by four lines, and Elisabeth's aria in Act 5 consisted only of part of the middle section and the reprise. The production was initially considered a success, and Verdi sent a congratulatory note to Costa. Later when he learned of the alterations, Verdi was greatly irritated, but Costa's version anticipated revisions Verdi himself would make a few years later in 1882–83.
The Italian premiere on 27 October 1867 at the
Teatro Comunale di Bologna
The Teatro Comunale di Bologna is an opera house in Bologna, Italy. Typically, it presents eight operas with six performances during its November to April season.
While there had been various theatres presenting opera in Bologna since the early ...
, conducted by Verdi's close friend
Angelo Mariani, was an "instant success", and this version, although produced in Verdi's absence, was more complete and included the ballet.
[Budden 1981, p. 28.] For the Rome premiere on 9 February 1868 at the
Teatro Apollo
The Tor di Nona is a neighborhood in Rome's ''rioni of Rome, rione'' ''Ponte (rione of Rome), Ponte''. It lies in the heart of the city's historic center, between the ''Via dei Coronari'' and the Tiber River. Its name commemorates the Torre dell'A ...
, perhaps unsurprisingly, the Papal censor changed the Inquisitor into a Gran Cancelliere (Grand Chancellor) and the Monk/Emperor into a Solitario (Recluse).
This version of the opera was first performed in Milan at
La Scala
La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was Santa Maria della Scala, Milan, a church). The premiere performa ...
on 25 March 1868, and prestige productions in most other Italian opera houses followed, but it did not become a popular success. The length was a particular problem, and subsequent performances were generally heavily cut. The first production in Naples in 1871 was indisputably a failure.
1872 revisions for Naples
Following the unsuccessful performance in
Naples
Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...
in 1871, Verdi was persuaded to visit the city for further performances in November / December 1872, and he made two more modifications to the score: (a) a revision of the closing two-thirds of the Philippe-Rodrigue duet in Act 2, Scene 2 (to Italian verses, almost certainly by
Antonio Ghislanzoni[Porter 1982, p. 368.]), which replaced some of the previously cut material, and (b) the removal of the ''allegro marziale'' section of the final Elisabeth-Carlos duet (replaced with an 8-bar patch). These are the only portions of the opera that were composed to an Italian rather than a French text.
[ According to Julian Budden, Verdi "was to regret both modifications". Ricordi incorporated the revisions into later prints of the opera without changing the plate numbers. This subsequently confused some authors, e.g. Francis Toye and Ernest Newman, who dated them to 1883.
]
1882/83 and 1886 revisions: "Milan version" and "Modena version"
The idea of reducing the scope and scale of ''Don Carlos'' had originally come to Verdi in 1875, partly as a result of his having heard reports of productions, such as Costa's, which had removed Act 1 and the ballet and introduced cuts to other parts of the opera. By April 1882, he was in Paris where he was ready to make changes. He was already familiar with the work of Charles-Louis-Étienne Nuitter, who had worked on French translations of ''Macbeth
''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...
'', '' La forza del destino'' and ''Aida
''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is a tragic opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 De ...
'' with du Locle, and the three proceeded to spend nine months on major revisions of the French text and the music to create a four-act version. This omitted Act 1 and the ballet, and was completed by March 1883. An Italian translation of this revised French text, re-using much of the original 1866 translation by de Lauzières, was made by . The La Scala première of the 1883 revised version took place on 10 January 1884 in Italian.
Although Verdi had accepted the need to remove the first act, it seems that he changed his mind and allowed a performance which presented the "Fontainebleau" first act along with the revised four-act version. It was given on 29 December 1886 in Modena, and has become known as the "Modena version", which was published by Ricordi
Ricordi may refer to:
People
* Giovanni Ricordi (1785–1853), Italian violinist and publishing company founder
*Giulio Ricordi (1840–1912), Italian publisher and musician
Music
*Casa Ricordi, an Italian music publishing company established i ...
as "a new edition in five acts without ballet".
20th century and beyond
In Italian
Performances of ''Don Carlo'' in the first half of the twentieth century were rare, but in the post Second World War period it has been regularly performed, particularly in the four-act 1884 "Milan version" in Italian. In 1950, to open Rudolf Bing
Sir Rudolf Bing, KBE (January 9, 1902 – September 2, 1997) was an Austrian-born British opera impresario who worked in Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States, including as General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City f ...
's first season as director of the Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...
, the four-act version was performed without the ballet in a production by Margaret Webster
Margaret Webster (March 15, 1905 – November 13, 1972) was an American-British theater actress, theatrical producer, producer and theatre direction, director. Critic George Jean Nathan described her as "the best director of the plays of Sha ...
with Jussi Björling in the title role, Delia Rigal as Elizabeth, Robert Merrill as Rodrigo, Fedora Barbieri as Eboli, Cesare Siepi as Philip II and Jerome Hines as the Grand Inquisitor. This version was performed there until 1972.[David Stevens (6 March 1996)]
"'Don Carlos,' Early and Late"
''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
''. The four-act version in Italian continued to be championed by conductors such as Herbert von Karajan (1978 audio recording and 1986 video recording) and Riccardo Muti
Riccardo Muti (; born 28 July 1941) is an Italian conductor. He is current music director of the Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini. Muti has previously held posts at the Maggio Musicale in Florence, the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, the ...
(1992 video recording).
Also influential was a 1958 staging of the 1886 five-act "Modena version" in Italian by The Royal Opera
The Royal Opera is a British opera company based in central London, resident at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. Along with English National Opera, it is one of the two principal opera companies in London. Founded in 1946 as the Covent G ...
company, Covent Garden, directed by Luchino Visconti
Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo (; 2 November 1906 – 17 March 1976) was an Italian filmmaker, theatre and opera director, and screenwriter. He was one of the fathers of Italian neorealism, cinematic neorealism, but later ...
and conducted by Carlo Maria Giulini. The cast included Jon Vickers as Don Carlo, Tito Gobbi
Tito Gobbi (24 October 19135 March 1984) was an Italian operatic baritone with an international reputation.
He made his operatic debut in Gubbio in 1935 as Count Rodolfo in Bellini's '' La sonnambula'' and quickly appeared in Italy's major oper ...
as Rodrigo, Boris Christoff as King Phillip and Gré Brouwenstijn as Elizabeth. This version has increasingly been performed elsewhere and has been recorded by, among others, Georg Solti
Sir Georg Solti ( , ; born György Stern; 21 October 1912 – 5 September 1997) was a Hungarian-British orchestral and operatic conductor, known for his appearances with opera companies in Munich, Frankfurt, and London, and as a long-servi ...
and Giulini.
After the discovery of music cut before the premiere, conductors began performing five-act versions that included some of it. In 1973 at La Fenice
Teatro La Fenice (; "The Phoenix Theatre") is a historic opera house in Venice, Italy. It is one of "the most famous and renowned landmarks in the history of Italian theatre" and in the history of opera as a whole. Especially in the 19th cen ...
, Georges Prêtre conducted a 5-act version in Italian without the ballet that included the discarded woodcutters scene, the first Carlo-Rodrigo duet in a hybrid beginning with the Paris edition but ending with the Milan revision, the discarded Elisabeth-Eboli duet from Act 4, and the Paris finale. In 1975, Charles Mackerras
Sir Alan Charles MacLaurin Mackerras (; (17 November 1925 – 14 July 2010) was an American-born Australian conductor. He was an authority on the operas of Janáček and Mozart, and the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan. He was long associ ...
conducted an expanded and modified five-act version (with Verdi's original prelude, the woodcutters' scene and the original Paris ending) in an English translation for English National Opera
English National Opera (ENO) is a British opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in E ...
at the London Coliseum. In 1978, Claudio Abbado
Claudio Abbado (; 26 June 1933 – 20 January 2014) was an Italian conductor who was one of the leading conductors of his generation. He served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the Berlin Philharm ...
mounted an expanded five-act version in Italian at La Scala. The cast included Mirella Freni
Mirella Freni (born Mirella Fregni, 27February 19359February 2020) was an Italian operatic soprano who had a career of 50 years and appeared at major international opera houses. She received international attention at the Glyndebourne Festiva ...
as Elizabeth, Elena Obraztsova and Viorica Cortez as Eboli, José Carreras
Josep Maria Carreras Coll (; born 5 December 1946), better known as José Carreras (, ), is a Catalan operatic tenor from Spain who is particularly known for his performances in the operas of Donizetti, Verdi and Puccini.
Born in Barcelona, ...
in the title role, Piero Cappuccilli as Rodrigo, Nicolai Ghiaurov as King Phillip, and Evgeny Nesterenko as the Grand Inquisitor. On 5 February 1979, James Levine
James Lawrence Levine ( ; June 23, 1943 – March 9, 2021) was an American conductor and pianist. He was music director of the Metropolitan Opera from 1976 to 2016. He was terminated from all his positions and affiliations with the Met on March ...
conducted an expanded five-act version in Italian at the Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...
in New York. The cast included Renata Scotto
Renata Scotto (24 February 1934 – 16 August 2023) was an Italian soprano, opera director, and voice teacher. Recognised for her sense of style, her musicality, and as a remarkable singer-actress, Scotto is considered to have been one of the pr ...
as Elizabeth, Marilyn Horne
Marilyn Berneice Horne (born January 16, 1934) is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer. She specialized in roles requiring beauty of tone, excellent breath support, and the ability to execute difficult coloratura passages. She is a recipient ...
as Eboli, Giuseppe Giacomini as Don Carlo, Sherrill Milnes as Rodrigo, Nicolai Ghiaurov as King Philip, and James Morris as the Grand Inquisitor.
Today, as translated into Italian and presented in four-act and five-act versions, the opera has become part of the standard repertory.
In French
Stagings and broadcasts of five-act French versions of the opera have become more frequent in the later 20th and into the 21st century. Up to 1973, these productions consisted of the revised and abridged four-act score of 1882–83 prefaced by the shortened, revised Act 1 set in Fontainebleau.[ A radio broadcast by ORTF in France was given in 1967 with a nearly all-French cast, with the exception of the Italian Matteo Manuguerra as Rodrigue. A five-act French version was performed at ]La Scala
La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was Santa Maria della Scala, Milan, a church). The premiere performa ...
Milan in 1970.
On 22 May 1973, the Opera Company of Boston
The Opera Company of Boston was an American opera company located in Boston, Massachusetts, that was active from the late 1950s through the 1980s. The company was founded by American conducting, conductor Sarah Caldwell in 1958 under the name Bo ...
under the direction of Sarah Caldwell presented a nearly complete five-act French version which included the 21 minutes of music cut before the premiere, but not the ballet. The 1867 version was used, since the restored music does not easily fit with the 1886 revised version. The cast included John Alexander in the title role, the French-Canadia
Édith Tremblay
as Élisabeth, the French singer as Princess Eboli, William Dooley as Rodrigue and Donald Gramm
Donald John Gramm (February 26, 1927 – June 2, 1983) was an American bass-baritone whose career was divided between opera and concert performances. His appearances were primarily limited to the United States, which at the time was unusual for an ...
as Philippe. According to Andrew Porter, the Boston production was "the first performance, ever, of the immense opera that Verdi prepared in 1867; and in doing so it opened a new chapter in the stage history of the piece."[
The BBC Concert Orchestra under ]John Matheson
John Ross Matheson (14 November 1917 – 27 December 2013) was a Canadian politician, lawyer, and judge, who helped develop both the national flag of Canada and the Order of Canada.
Early life
John Matheson was born in Arundel, Quebec, th ...
broadcast the opera in June 1973 with the roles of Don Carlos sung by André Turp, Philippe II by Joseph Rouleau, and Rodrigue by Robert Savoie. Julian Budden comments that "this was the first complete performance of what could be called the 1866 conception in French with the addition of the ballet."
Several notable productions of five-act French versions have been mounted more recently. A five-act French version was performed by the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels in 1983. A co-production between the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris and the Royal Opera in London in 1996 used Andrew Porter as a consultant and was a "judicious mixture" of music from the 1866 original and the 1883 revision.[ The production, staged by Luc Bondy, was also shared with the opera houses in Brussels, Nice and Lyon. The performance by the Paris cast (March 1996), was conducted by Antonio Pappano with Roberto Alagna as Don Carlos, Karita Mattila as Elisabeth, ]Thomas Hampson
Thomas Walter Hampson (born June 28, 1955) is an American lyric baritone, a classical singer who has appeared world-wide in major opera houses and concert halls and made over 170 musical recordings.
Hampson's operatic repertoire spans a range ...
as Rodrigue, José Van Dam as Philippe II and Waltraud Meier as Eboli. It was recorded on videotape
Videotape is magnetic tape used for storing video and usually Sound recording and reproduction, sound in addition. Information stored can be in the form of either an analog signal, analog or Digital signal (signal processing), digital signal. V ...
and is now available in a remastered HD video format.[
A ]Vienna State Opera
The Vienna State Opera (, ) is a historic opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by ...
production, staged by Peter Konwitschny
Peter Konwitschny (born 21 January 1945 in Frankfurt am Main) is a German opera and theatre director.
Biography
Peter Konwitschny grew up in Leipzig, where his father Franz Konwitschny was principal conductor of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchest ...
and performed in Vienna in October 2004, included all of the music excised during the Paris rehearsal period plus the ballet. Patrick O'Connor, writing in the '' Gramophone'' magazine, reports the ballet was "staged as 'Eboli's Dream'. She and Don Carlos are living in suburban bliss, and have Philip and Elisabeth round for a pizza, delivered by Rodrigo. Musically, the performance, apart from the Auto-da-fé scene, has a lot going for it under the direction of Bertrand de Billy." A DVD video recording is available.[''Don Carlos''. TDK, 2007. . Arthaus Musik, 2010. .]
On 17 September 2005 a co-production directed by John Caird of the largely uncut Paris version in French between the Welsh National Opera and the Canadian Opera Company
The Canadian Opera Company (COC) is an opera company in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest opera company in Canada and one of the largest producers of opera in North America. The COC performs at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performin ...
(Toronto) was premiered by the WNO at the Wales Millennium Center. The performance was conducted by Carlo Rizzi with Nuccia Focile as Elizabeth, Paul Charles Clarke as Don Carlos, Scott Hendricks as Rodrigue, Guang Yang as Eboli, Andrea Silvestrelli as Philippe II, and Daniel Sumegi as the Grand Inquisitor. The production was taken on tour to Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
, Oxford
Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town.
The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
, Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
, Bristol
Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
, Southampton
Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
and Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
. It was performed by the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
in October/November 2007 with a different cast. The production was performed several times by the Houston Grand Opera from 13 April 2012 until 28 April. The Houston production was conducted by Patrick Summers with Brandon Jovanovich as Don Carlos, Tamara Wilson as Elizabeth, Andrea Silvestrelli as Philippe II, Christine Goerke as Eboli, Scott Hendricks as Rodrigue and Samuel Ramey
Samuel Ramey (born March 28, 1942) is an American operatic bass. At the height of his career, he was greatly admired for his range and versatility, having possessed a sufficiently accomplished bel canto technique which enabled him to sing the mu ...
as the Grand Inquisitor.
On 10 October 2017, the Opéra National de Paris
The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be kn ...
performed the 1866 French version (before the ballet was composed) in a production staged by Krzysztof Warlikowski at the Bastille
The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was stormed by a ...
. Conducted by Philippe Jordan, the cast included Jonas Kaufmann as Don Carlos, Sonya Yoncheva as Elisabeth, Ludovic Tézier
Ludovic Tézier (born 1968 in Marseille) is a French operatic baritone.
Biography
Ludovic Tézier trained at the Paris Opéra’s École d’Art lyrique and at the Centre National d’Artistes Lyriques. He was a prize winner at Operalia, The ...
as Rodrigue, Ildar Abdrazakov as Philippe II and Elīna Garanča as Eboli. The performance of 19 October was telecast live to cinemas in Europe and later that evening presented on the ARTE
Arte (, , ; ' ('), sometimes stylised in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European Union, European public service Television channel, channel dedicated to culture. It is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg-based Europea ...
television channel.
The Metropolitan Opera presented the opera in French for the first time on 28 February 2022 in the Modena version in a production by David McVicar, with tenor Matthew Polenzani in the title role and French-Canadian Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducting. The performance of 26 March 2022 was presented as part of the Met Opera Live in HD series, with house-conductor Patrick Furrer filling in for an ailing Nézet-Séguin.
Roles
Synopsis
:[This synopsis is based on the original five-act version composed for Paris and completed in 1866. Important changes for subsequent versions are noted in indented brackets. First lines of arias, etc., are given in French and Italian].
Act 1
:[This act was omitted in the 1883 revision]
''The Forest of Fontainebleau, France in winter''
A prelude and chorus of woodcutters and their wives is heard. They complain of their hard life, made worse by war with Spain. Elisabeth, daughter of the King of France, arrives with her attendants. She reassures the people that her impending marriage to Don Carlos, Infante and son of Philip II, King of Spain, will bring the war to an end, and departs.
:[The preceding prelude and chorus of woodcutters was cut before the Paris première and replaced by a short scene in which Elisabeth crosses the stage and hands out money to the woodcutters; she exits without singing. The prelude and chorus of woodcutters was also omitted when Act 1 was restored in the 1886 five-act Modena version.]
Carlos, coming out from hiding, has seen Elisabeth and fallen in love with her (Aria: "Je l'ai vue" / "Io la vidi"). When she reappears, he initially pretends to be a member of the Count of Lerma's delegation. She asks him about Don Carlos, whom she has not yet met. Before long, Carlos reveals his true identity and his feelings, which she reciprocates (Duet: "De quels transports poignants et doux" / "Di quale amor, di quanto ardor"). A cannon-shot signifies that peace has been declared between Spain and France. Thibault appears and gives Elisabeth the surprising news that her hand is to be claimed not by Carlos but by his father, Philip. When Lerma and his followers confirm this, Elisabeth is devastated but feels bound to accept, in order to consolidate the peace. She departs for Spain, leaving Carlos equally devastated.
Act 2
: his is Act 1 in the 1883 revision
''Scene 1: The monastery of Saint-Just (San Jerónimo de Yuste
The Monastery of Yuste is a monastery in the small village now called Cuacos de Yuste (in older works ''San Yuste'' or ''San Just'') in the province of Cáceres in the autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain. The monastery was founded by t ...
) in Spain''
The scene takes place soon after King Philip II and Elisabeth have married. Monks pray before the tomb of the former Emperor Charles V ("Carlo Quinto"). The monks' leader proclaims that the Emperor was proud but has been humbled through error.
Don Carlos enters, anguished that the woman he loves is now his stepmother.
:[In the 1883 revision, he sings a revised version of the aria "Je l'ai vue" / "Io la vidi", which was salvaged from the omitted first act but with some different music and different text to reflect his current situation. In the four-act version he already knows that he cannot marry Elisabeth. In the original, when singing the aria, he was still expecting to marry her]
When Carlos pauses in his lament, the leader of the monks proclaims that the turbulence of the world persists even in sacred places; we cannot rest except in Heaven. The sound of his voice frightens Carlos, who thinks it sounds like that of the Emperor Charles V. Carlos further notices that the monk physically resembles the Emperor, and recalls hearing rumors that the Emperor's ghost haunts the monastery.
Carlos' dear friend Rodrigue, Marquis of Posa, who has just arrived from the oppressed land of Flanders, enters. The two greet each other joyfully (Aria: "J'étais en Flandres").
Rodrigue asks for the Infante's aid on behalf of the suffering people there. Carlos reveals that he loves his stepmother. Rodrigue is first shocked, but then sympathetic. He encourages Carlos to leave Spain and go to Flanders, and to forget his pain by focusing on political activity there. The two men swear eternal friendship (Duet: "Dieu, tu semas dans nos âmes" / "Dio, che nell'alma infondere").
King Philip and his new wife, with their attendants, enter also to do homage at Charles V's tomb, while Don Carlos laments his lost love.
''Scene 2: A garden near Saint-Just''
Princess Eboli sings the Veil Song ("Au palais des fées" / "Nel giardin del bello") about a Moorish King trying to seduce an alluring veiled beauty, who turns out to be his own neglected wife. Elisabeth enters. Rodrigue gives her a letter from France, which covers a secret note from Don Carlos. At his urging (Aria: "L'Infant Carlos, notre espérance" / "Carlo ch'è sol il nostro amore"), Elisabeth agrees to see the Infante alone. Unaware of this relationship, Eboli infers that she, Eboli, is the one Don Carlos loves.
When they are alone, Don Carlos tells Elisabeth that he is miserable, and asks her to request the King to send him to Flanders. She promptly agrees, provoking Carlos to renew his declarations of love, which she piously rejects. Don Carlos exits in a frenzy, shouting that he must be under a curse. The King enters and becomes angry because the Queen is alone and unattended. His suspicions are insulting to her. He orders the lady-in-waiting who was meant to be attending her, the Countess of Aremberg, to return to France, prompting Elizabeth to sing a sorrowful farewell-aria. (Aria: "Oh ma chère compagne" / "Non pianger, mia compagna").
The King now approaches Rodrigue, with whose character and activism he is impressed, and offers to reward him for his loyalty and service. Rodrigue begs the King to stop oppressing the people of Flanders. The King calls Rodrigue's idealism unrealistic and warns that the Grand Inquisitor is watching him. The King confides in Rodrigue, telling him that he fears that Carlos is having an affair with Elisabeth. Rodrigue replies that Carlos is innocent, and offers to watch Elisabeth and to be responsible for her good behavior. The King gratefully accepts this offer, and again warns Rodrigue to beware of the Grand Inquisitor.
: his dialogue was revised three times by Verdi.
Act 3
: his is Act 2 in the 1883 revision
''Scene 1: Evening in the Queen's garden in Madrid''
Elisabeth is tired, and wishes to concentrate on the following day's coronation of the King. To avoid the '' divertissement'' planned for the evening, she exchanges masks with Eboli, assuming that thereby her absence will not be noticed, and leaves.
: his scene was omitted from the 1883 revision
: n the première, the ballet (choreographed by Lucien Petipa and entitled "La Pérégrina") took place at this point]
At midnight, Don Carlos enters, clutching a note suggesting a tryst in the gardens. Although he thinks this is from Elisabeth, it is really from Eboli. Eboli, who still thinks Don Carlos loves her, enters. Don Carlos mistakes her for Elisabeth in the dark, and passionately declares his love. When he sees Eboli's face, he realizes his error and recoils from her. Eboli guesses his secret—that he was expecting the Queen, whom he loves. She threatens to tell the King that Elisabeth and Carlos are lovers. Carlos, terrified, begs for mercy. Rodrigue enters, and warns her not to cross him; he is the King's confidant. Eboli replies by hinting darkly that she is a formidable and dangerous foe, with power which Rodrigue does not yet know about. (Her power is that she is having an affair with the King, but she does not reveal this yet.) Rodrigue draws his dagger, intending to stab her to death, but reconsiders, spares her, and declares his trust in the Lord. Eboli exits in a vengeful rage. Rodrigue advises Carlos to entrust to him any sensitive, potentially incriminating political documents that he may have and, when Carlos agrees, they reaffirm their friendship.
''Scene 2: In front of the Cathedral of Valladolid
Valladolid ( ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and ''de facto'' capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the pr ...
''
Preparations are being made for an ''auto-da-fé
An ''auto-da-fé'' ( ; from Portuguese language, Portuguese or Spanish language, Spanish (, meaning 'act of faith') was a ritualized or public penance carried out between the 15th and 19th centuries in condemnation of heresy, heretics, Aposta ...
'', the public parade and burning of condemned heretics. While the people celebrate, monks drag the condemned to the woodpile. A royal procession follows, and the King addresses the populace, promising to protect them with fire and sword. Don Carlos enters with six Flemish envoys, who plead with the King for their country's freedom. Although the people and the court are sympathetic, the King, supported by the monks, orders his guards to arrest the envoys. Carlos demands that the King grant him authority to govern Flanders; the King scornfully refuses. Enraged, Carlos draws his sword against the King. The King calls for help but the guards will not attack Don Carlos. Rodrigue realizes that actually attacking the King would be disastrous for Carlos. He steps forward and defuses the situation by taking Carlos' sword from him. Carlos, astonished, yields to his friend without resisting. Relieved and grateful, the King raises Rodrigue to the rank of Duke. The guards arrest Carlos, the monks fire the woodpile, and as the flames start to rise, a heavenly voice can be heard promising heavenly peace to the condemned souls.
Act 4
: his is Act 3 in the 1883 revision
''Scene 1: Dawn in King Philip's study in Madrid''
Alone and suffering from insomnia
Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder where people have difficulty sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep for as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low ene ...
, the King, in a reverie, laments that Elisabeth has never loved him, that his position means that he has to be eternally vigilant and that he will only sleep properly when he is in his tomb in the Escorial (Aria: "Elle ne m'aime pas" / " Ella giammai m'amò"). The blind, ninety-year-old Grand Inquisitor is announced and shuffles into the King's apartment. When the King asks if the Church will object to him putting his own son to death, the Inquisitor replies that the King will be in good company: God sacrificed ''His'' own son. In return for his support, the Inquisitor demands that the King have Rodrigue killed. The King refuses at first to kill his friend, whom he admires and likes. However, the Grand Inquisitor reminds the King that the Inquisition can take down any king; he has created and destroyed other rulers before. Frightened and overwhelmed, the King begs the Grand Inquisitor to forget about the past discussion. The latter replies "Peut-être" / "Forse!" – perhaps! – and leaves. The King bitterly muses on his helplessness to oppose the Church.
Elisabeth enters, alarmed at the apparent theft of her jewel casket. However, the King produces it and points to the portrait of Don Carlos which it contains, accusing her of adultery. She protests her innocence but, when the King threatens her, she faints. In response to his calls for help, into the chamber come Eboli and Rodrigue. Their laments of suspicion cause the King to realize that he has been wrong to suspect his wife (Quartet: "Maudit soit le soupçon infâme" / "Ah, sia maledetto, il rio sospetto"). Aside, Rodrigue resolves to save Carlos, though it may mean his own death. Eboli feels remorse for betraying Elisabeth; the latter, recovering, expresses her despair.
: he quartet was revised by Verdi in 1883 and begins: "Maudit soit, maudit le soupçon infâme" / "Ah! sii maledetto, sospetto fatale".
Elisabeth and Eboli are left together. Eboli confesses that it was she who told the King that Elisabeth and Carlos were having an affair, for revenge against Carlos for having rejected her. This is followed by the duet "J'ai tout compris". Eboli also confesses that she herself is guilty of that which she accused the Queen, and has become the King's mistress. Elisabeth leaves, and the Count di Lerma orders Eboli to choose between exile or the convent, then leaves.
:[At the premiere, the duet "J'ai tout compris" and Eboli's second confession, of her affair with the king, were omitted. Elisabeth orders Eboli to choose between exile or the convent immediately after Eboli's first confession. In 1883, the duet was omitted, but Eboli's second confession was reinstated in a revised version, and Elisabeth remains on stage to sing the Count di Lerma's lines.]
Eboli, left alone, curses her own beauty and pride, and resolves to make amends by trying to save Carlos from the Inquisition (Aria: "O don fatal" / "O don fatale").
''Scene 2: A prison''
Don Carlos has been imprisoned. Rodrigue arrives and tells Carlos that he (Rodrigue) has saved Carlos from being executed, by allowing himself (Rodrigue) to be incriminated by the politically sensitive documents which he had obtained from Carlos earlier (Aria, part 1: "C'est mon jour suprême" / "Per me giunto è il dì supremo"). A shadowy figure appears—one of the Grand Inquisitor's assassins—and shoots Rodrigue in the chest. As he dies, Rodrigue tells Carlos that Elisabeth will meet him at Saint-Just the following day. He adds that he is content to die if his friend can save Flanders and rule over a happier Spain (Aria, part 2: "Ah, je meurs, l'âme joyeuse" / "Io morrò, ma lieto in core"). At that moment, the King enters, offering his son freedom, as Rodrigue had arranged. Carlos repulses him for having murdered Rodrigue. The King sees that Rodrigue is dead and cries out in sorrow.
: Lacrimosa of his ''Requiem (Verdi)">Messa da Requiem'' of 1874">Requiem_(Verdi).html" ;"title="Lacrimosa (Requiem)">Lacrimosa of his ''Requiem (Verdi)">Messa da Requiem'' of 1874
Bells ring as Elisabeth and Eboli enter. The crowd pushes its way into the prison and threatens the King, demanding the release of Carlos. In the confusion, Eboli escapes with Carlos. The people are brave enough at first in the presence of the King, but they are terrified by the arrival of the Grand Inquisitor, and instantly obey his angry command to quiet down and pay homage to the King.
:[After the première, some productions ended this act with the death of Rodrigue. However, in 1883 Verdi provided a much shortened version of the insurrection, as he felt that otherwise it would not be clear how Eboli had fulfilled her promise to rescue Carlos]
Act 5
:[This is Act 4 in the 1883 revision]
''The moonlit monastery of Yuste''
Elisabeth kneels before the tomb of Charles V. She is committed to help Don Carlos on his way to fulfill his destiny in Flanders, but she herself longs only for death (Aria: "Toi qui sus le néant" / " Tu che le vanità"). Carlos appears and tells her that he has overcome his desire for her; he now loves her honorably, as a son loves his mother. They say a final farewell, promising to meet again in Heaven (Duet: "Au revoir dans un monde où la vie est meilleure" / "Ma lassù ci vedremo in un mondo migliore").
: his duet was twice revised by Verdi
The King and the Grand Inquisitor enter, with several armed guards. The King infers that Carlos and Elisabeth have been lovers and demands that they both be immediately killed in a double sacrifice. The Inquisitor confirms that the Inquisition will do its duty. A short summary trial follows, confirming Carlos's putative culpability.
:[The trial was omitted in 1883 and does not occur on any commercially available audio recording, although it was performed at La Scala
La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was Santa Maria della Scala, Milan, a church). The premiere performa ...
in 1978. It was performed in Vienna in 2004 and recorded on video.[]
Carlos, cries "Ah, God will avenge me, this tribunal of blood, His hand will crush."][''Don Carlos'', 1867 libretto, pp. 81–82]
Defending himself, Carlos retreats towards the tomb of Charles V. The gate opens, the Monk appears, draws Carlos into his arms, covers him with his coat and sings: "My son, the pains of the earth still follow us in this place, the peace your heart hopes for is found only with God." The King and the Inquisitor recognize the Monk's voice: he is the King's father, Charles V, who was believed dead. As the curtain slowly falls, the Monk leads the distraught Carlos into the cloister to the chanting of monks in the chapel that "Charles V, the august Emperor is naught but ash and dust." The opera concludes softly with pianissimo
In music, the dynamics of a piece are the variation in loudness between note (music), notes or phrase (music), phrases. Dynamics are indicated by specific musical notation, often in some detail. However, dynamics markings require interpretation ...
chords
Chord or chords may refer to:
Art and music
* Chord (music), an aggregate of musical pitches sounded simultaneously
** Guitar chord, a chord played on a guitar, which has a particular tuning
* The Chords (British band), 1970s British mod ...
and tremolo
In music, ''tremolo'' (), or ''tremolando'' (), is a trembling effect. There are multiple types of tremolo: a rapid repetition of a note, an alternation between two different notes, or a variation in volume.
Tremolos may be either ''measured'' ...
s played by the strings.[
:[The ending was revised in 1883, with the Monk singing a tone higher. The score explicitly indicates he is Charles V with royal robe and crown, and the chanting of the monks is no longer sung, but "thundered out as a brass chorale."]
]
Instrumentation
Except as noted, the instrumentation shown here is from the ''Edizione integrale'', second edition, edited by Ursula Günther
Ursula Günther (15 June 1927 – 20 or 21 November 2006) was a German musicologist specializing in the fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries and the music of Giuseppe Verdi. She coined the term , to categorize the rhythmically complex music tha ...
.[Verdi; Günther 1986, p. XXXVII.]
* '' Woodwinds'': 3 flutes
The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...
, piccolo
The piccolo ( ; ) is a smaller version of the western concert flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" or piccolo flute, the modern piccolo has the same type of fingerings as the ...
, 2 oboe
The oboe ( ) is a type of double-reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites.
The most common type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, ...
s, English horn
The cor anglais (, or original ; plural: ''cors anglais''), or English horn (mainly North America), is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family. It is approximately one and a half times the length of an oboe, making it essentially ...
, 2 clarinet
The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell.
Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...
s, 4 bassoon
The bassoon is a musical instrument in the woodwind family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuosity ...
s, contrabassoon
The contrabassoon, also known as the double bassoon, is a larger version of the bassoon, sounding an octave lower. Its technique is similar to its smaller cousin, with a few notable differences.
Differences from the bassoon
The Reed (mouthpie ...
* ''Brass
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...
'': 4 horns, 2 cornets, 2 trumpet
The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...
s, 3 trombone
The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the Standing wave, air c ...
s, ophicleide
* ''Percussion
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...
'': timpani
Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion instrument, percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a Membranophone, membrane called a drumhead, ...
, bass drum
The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter usually greater than its depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. The head ...
, triangle
A triangle is a polygon with three corners and three sides, one of the basic shapes in geometry. The corners, also called ''vertices'', are zero-dimensional points while the sides connecting them, also called ''edges'', are one-dimension ...
, bell
A bell /ˈbɛl/ () is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be m ...
s, cannon, tambourine
The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, thoug ...
, castanets
Castanets, also known as ''clackers'' or ''palillos'', are a percussion instrument ( idiophonic), used in Spanish, Calé, Moorish, Ottoman, Greek, Italian, Mexican, Sephardic, Portuguese, Filipino, Brazilian, and Swiss music. In ancient ...
* ''Other'': harp
The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orchestras or ...
, harmonium
The pump organ or reed organ is a type of organ that uses free reeds to generate sound, with air passing over vibrating thin metal strips mounted in a frame. Types include the pressure-based harmonium, the suction reed organ (which employs a va ...
* ''Stage band'':[The autograph score does not specify the instrumentation of the stage band, and Verdi notated the music at real pitch. For the 1867 Paris premiere, instruments made by Adolphe Sax were used (Verdi; Günther 1986, p. XXXVII). The instrumentation given here is from the Dover reprint (Verdi 2011, p. xii), which states the instrumentation is from the "authoritative Ricordi edition of ''Don Carlo''" but is rarely used in its entirety.] Offstage horns (''left and right'') in E-flat and B-flat, D clarinet, 2 clarinets in A, 2 flugelhorn
The flugelhorn (), also spelled fluegelhorn, flugel horn, or flügelhorn, is a brass instrument that resembles the trumpet and cornet, but has a wider, more conical bore. Like trumpets and cornets, most flugelhorns are pitched in B♭, though ...
s, 2 trumpets in D, 4 horns in D, 2 tuba
The tuba (; ) is the largest and lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece (brass), mouthpiece. It first appeared in th ...
s, 2 trombones, 2 bass tubas
* '' Strings'': violin
The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...
s, viola
The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...
s, cello
The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...
s, double bass
The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...
es
Recordings
Cultural references
The opera is the subject of the 1999 novel '' Score!'' by Jilly Cooper
Dame Jilly Cooper, (born Jill Sallitt; 21 February 1937) is an English author. She began her career as a journalist and wrote numerous works of non-fiction before writing several romance novels, the first of which appeared in 1975. Cooper is ...
, which sets a murder mystery plot against the backdrop of a fictional film recording of the work.
See also
*Cultural depictions of Philip II of Spain
Philip II of Spain has inspired artistic and cultural works for over four centuries, as the most powerful ruler in the Europe of his day, and subsequently a central figure in the " Black Legend" of Spanish power. The following list covers represent ...
References
Notes
Cited sources
* Budden, Julian (1981), ''The Operas of Verdi'', Volume 3: From ''Don Carlos'' to ''Falstaff''. London: Cassell. .
*Kimbell, David (2001), in Holden, Amanda (Ed.), ''The New Penguin Opera Guide'', New York: Penguin Putnam, 2001.
* Kessler, Daniel (2008), ''Sarah Caldwell; The First Woman of Opera''. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. .
* Parker, Roger (1998), "''Don Carlos''", in Stanley Sadie (ed.), ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'', Vol. One. London: Macmillan Publishers, Inc. 1998 .
* Kobbé, Gustav (1997). '' The New Kobbé's Opera Book'', edited by the Earl of Harewood
Earl of Harewood (), in the County of York, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.
History
The title was created in 1812 for Edward Lascelles, 1st Baron Harewood, a wealthy sugar plantation owner and former Member of Parliament fo ...
and Antony Peattie. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. .
* Phillips-Matz, Mary Jane (1994), ''Verdi: A Biography'', Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. .
* Porter, Andrew (1982), Review of: "Giuseppe Verdi. ''Don Carlos: Edizione integrale...'', edited by Ursula Günther (and Lucian Petazzoni). 1980." ''Journal of the American Musicological Society'', vol. 35, no. 2 (Summer, 1982), pp. 360–370. .
* Verdi, Giuseppe (2011). ''Don Carlos ("Don Carlo") in Full Score. The classic Italian translation authorized by the composer, published as DON CARLO in a revised five-act restoration, with notations for an alternative four-act version''. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications, 2001, 2011. . Dover states this is an unabridged republication of the work published by G. Ricordi, Milan, undated, as ''Giuseppe Verdi, Don Carlo—Partitura (Valevole per l'edizione in 4 e 5 atti)''.
* Verdi, Giuseppe; Ursula Günther
Ursula Günther (15 June 1927 – 20 or 21 November 2006) was a German musicologist specializing in the fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries and the music of Giuseppe Verdi. She coined the term , to categorize the rhythmically complex music tha ...
, editor (1986), ''Don Carlos, edizione integrale delle varie versioni in cinque e in quattro atti (comprendente gli inediti verdiani a cura di Ursula Günther)''. Second revision of the sources, prepared by Ursula Günther and Luciano Petazzoni. Piano-vocal score in two volumes with French and Italian text. Milan: Ricordi. Copyright 1974. .
* Walker, Frank (1962), ''The Man Verdi''. New York: Knopf. . London: Dent. . Chicago: The University of Chicago Press (1982 paperback reprint with a new introduction by Philip Gossett). .
Other sources
* Batchelor, Jennifer (ed.) (1992), ''Don Carlos/Don Carlo'', London: John Calder; New York: Riverrun. .
* De Van, Gilles (trans. Gilda Roberts) (1998), ''Verdi's Theater: Creating Drama Through Music''. Chicago & London: University of Chicago Press. (hardback),
* Gossett, Philip (2006), ''Divas and Scholar: Performing Italian Opera'', Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
*Martin, George, '' Verdi: His Music, Life and Times'' (1983), New York: Dodd, Mead and Company.
* Osborne, Charles (1969), ''The Complete Operas of Verdi'', New York: Da Capo Press, Inc., 1969.
*Parker, Roger (2007), ''The New Grove Guide to Verdi and His Operas'', Oxford & New York: Oxford University Press.
* Pistone, Danièle (1995), ''Nineteenth-Century Italian Opera: From Rossini to Puccini'', Portland, OR: Amadeus Press.
* Toye, Francis (1931), ''Giuseppe Verdi: His Life and Works'', New York: Knopf, 1931
* Warrack, John and West, Ewan (1992), ''The Oxford Dictionary of Opera'' New York: OUP.
* Werfel, Franz and Stefan, Paul (1973), ''Verdi: The Man and His Letters'', New York, Vienna House.
External links
Verdi: "The story" and "History"
on giuseppeverdi.it
1867 French libretto
at Google Books
Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical charac ...
Libretto (Italian)
*
*Visual evidence of the Parisian premiere o
Gallica
Aria list
from aria-database.com
*, Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...
*, Deutsche Oper Berlin
The Deutsche Oper Berlin is a German opera company located in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin. The resident building is the country's second largest opera house (after Munich's) and also home to the Berlin State Ballet.
Since 2004, the ...
*, ''The Metropolitan Opera Presents''
*, The Royal Opera
The Royal Opera is a British opera company based in central London, resident at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. Along with English National Opera, it is one of the two principal opera companies in London. Founded in 1946 as the Covent G ...
*, Salzburg Easter Festival
*, Théâtre du Châtelet
*, The Royal Opera
{{Authority control
Operas
Operas set in France
Operas set in Spain
1867 operas
Grand operas
French-language operas
Italian-language operas
Operas by Giuseppe Verdi
Opera world premieres at the Paris Opera
Operas based on works by Friedrich Schiller
Operas based on plays
Cultural depictions of Ana de Mendoza y de Silva, Princess of Éboli
Cultural depictions of Philip II of Spain