DON CARLO: VERDI AT THE TOP OF HIS GAME

Verdi composed the opera Don Carlos, in five acts, as a tribute to classical French tragedy. The opera was initially commissioned by the Paris Opera and inspired by a romantic play, Schiller's Don Carlos. However, Don Carlo was a later version, reworked into four acts, destined for La Scala in Milan in 1884, and it was this version that would become the most popular on the world stage. It is generally considered that the composer is at the height of his lyrical expression.

THE STORY

Set in France and Spain during the reign of Philip II in 1560, Verdi's opera recounts the impossible love of the Spanish infant, Carlos, for Elisabeth de Valois, whose hand in marriage her father has promised to king Philip II. The love rivalry between father and son sometimes takes on political overtones, against the backdrop of the dark period of the Spanish Inquisition.

THE MAIN ROLES

• Don Carlos, Prince of Asturias, tenor
• Elisabeth, the Queen, soprano
• Philip II, King of Spain, bass
• Rodrigo, Marquis of Posa, Grand of Spain, baritone
• Princess Eboli, mezzo-soprano
• The Grand Inquisitor, bass