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96-585: The plot recounts conflicts in the life of Carlos, Prince of Asturias (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 and Valois demanded that she be married instead to his father Philip II of Spain . It was commissioned and produced by the Théâtre Impérial de l'Opéra ( Paris Opera ) and given its premiere at

192-553: A crown matrimonial . Reign does hold true to the facts of brain damage, but instead of a fall, Don Carlos's head is impaled by a piece of wood from his " sex horse ". Carlos is portrayed by Joseph Cuby as a 14 year old sadist betrothed to Princess Mariella ( Francesca Annis ) in the TV series Sir Francis Drake (1962) episode "Visit to Spain". John Foxe , in Actes and Monuments , better known as Foxe's Book of Martyrs (2nd ed., 1570), wrote

288-609: A "problem opera" for the Opéra—it disappeared from its repertoire after 1869. 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

384-517: A Dream ) (1635), by Pedro Calderón de la Barca ; however, this play does not explicitly refer to Don Carlos, starts with a different premise, and was likely inspired by a combination of religious reflection and Plato's cave , in the line of Spanish Neoplatonism . The role of Carlos is portrayed by Canadian actor Mark Ghanimé in the CW show Reign . He was portrayed as a sexual deviant, who enjoyed being whipped, and showed interest in ruling Scotland with

480-546: 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 as Rodrigue, José Van Dam as Philippe II and Waltraud Meier as Eboli. It

576-654: A few years later in 1882–83. The Italian premiere on 27 October 1867 at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna , 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. For the Rome premiere on 9 February 1868 at the Teatro Apollo , perhaps unsurprisingly, the Papal censor changed

672-536: A house on fire after he was accidentally splashed with water thrown from a window of the house. Carlos often complained about his father's resistance to giving him positions of authority. Hoping to placate his son by increasing his sense of responsibility, Philip appointed Carlos president of the Council of State in 1567. However, the prince showed no interest in the Council or in familiarizing himself with political matters. Although he initially promised Carlos rule over

768-628: 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. 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 (Toronto) was premiered by

864-582: 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

960-470: Is probably the version of the story most familiar to modern audiences, as it is a mainstay of the operatic repertoire and is still frequently performed. In it, Carlos is portrayed sympathetically as a victim of court intrigues, and little reference is made to his mental instability or violent tendencies. The story of a king jailing his own son is also the basis for the Spanish play La vida es sueño ( Life Is

1056-650: 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

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1152-453: 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

1248-531: The Low Countries in his father's name. In April 1562, while at the University of Alcalá, Carlos sustained a severe head injury after falling down a staircase. Initially deemed non-threatening, his condition rapidly deteriorated; within ten days he was experiencing delusions and excruciating pain. Fearing for his son's life, Philip sought various remedies, consulting numerous physicians and resorting to placing

1344-693: The Metropolitan Opera , the four-act version was performed without the ballet in a production by Margaret Webster 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. 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 (1992 video recording). Also influential

1440-470: The Paris Opera , served him, in a way, as a premiere. The operas for which he then brushed the sets are masterpieces: in 1846, he created the set for the 2nd act of Donizetti's Betly . His fame dates back to that moment: the 1st act of Auber 's Zerline ; the 1st act of Halévy's Juif errant ; the 4th act of la Fronde , by Louis Niedermeyer ; the 1st act of Józef Michał Poniatowski 's Pierre de Médicis ;

1536-818: The Salle Le Peletier on 11 March 1867. The first performance in Italian was given at Covent Garden in London in June 1867. The first performance in Italy was in Bologna in October 1867, also in Italian translation. After some revisions by Verdi, it was performed in Italian in Naples in November/December 1872. Verdi was also responsible for a short four-act "Milan version" in which the first act

1632-783: The Théâtre de l'Odéon , the setting of the mysterious park in Joséphin Péladan 's Sphynx , at the Théâtre-Français , a night effect of the banks of the Seine near the Institut de France in Jean de Thommeray by Émile Augier and Jules Sandeau , in the same theatre. In 1858, he had painted a superb ceiling for the Théâtre-Français, depicting Apollo riding on Pegasus among the characters who inspired

1728-631: The 1st act of Messager's Les Deux pigeons ; The 3rd act of Patrie , by Émile Paladilhe ; the 2nd and 5th acts of Gounod's Roméo et Juliette ; the 3rd scene of Saint-Saens's Ascanio . He also created the set representing the Roman Forum in Louis Bouilhet 's Faustine at the Théâtre de la Porte-Saint-Martin , the set of the Montmartre Cemetery in Edmond de Goncourt's Germinie Lacerteux at

1824-500: 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-Canadian Édith Tremblay as Élisabeth, the French singer Michèle Vilma  [ fr ] as Princess Eboli, William Dooley as Rodrigue and Donald Gramm as Philippe. According to Andrew Porter ,

1920-420: The 3rd act of Delibes' Sylvia (ballet) ; the 1st and 5th acts of Massenet's The King of Lahore ; the 3rd act of Gounod's Polyeucte ; the 2nd scene and the 4th act of Verdi's Aida ; the 2nd act of Charles-Marie Widor 's La Korrigane ; the 1st and 4th acts of Gounod's Le tribut de Zamora ; the 1st act of Delibes' Namouna ; the 1st act of Gounod's Sapho ; the 1st and 4th act of Reyer's Sigurd ;

2016-400: The 3rd act of Gounod's The Queen of Sheba ; the 1st and 2nd acts of Meyerbeer's L'Africaine ; the 1st act of Auguste Mermet 's Roland à Roncesvaux ; the 4th act of Verdi's Don Carlos ; the 1st and 5th acts of Thomas 's Hamlet ; the 4th act of Gounod's Faust ; the 1st act of Coupe du roi de Thulé , by Eugène Diaz  [ fr ] ; the 3rd act of Joan of Arc , by Mermet;

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2112-465: 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 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

2208-475: The Cathedral of Valladolid Preparations are being made for an auto-da-fé , 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

2304-557: 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

2400-494: The Grand Inquisitor. 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. At midnight, Don Carlos enters, clutching a note suggesting a tryst in the gardens. Although he thinks this

2496-544: The Grand Inquisitor. In 2017, the Opéra National de Paris performed the 1866 French version (before the ballet was composed) in a production staged by Krzysztof Warlikowski at the Bastille . Conducted by Philippe Jordan , the cast included Jonas Kaufmann as Don Carlos, Sonya Yoncheva as Elisabeth, Ludovic Tézier as Rodrigue, Ildar Abdrazakov as Philippe II and Elīna Garanča as Eboli. The Metropolitan Opera presented

2592-417: 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

2688-595: 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 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

2784-474: 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,

2880-590: The Italian rights, but insisting that the opera: However, the Italian translation was first performed not in Italy but in London at the Royal Opera House , 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 being removed, the ballet in Act 3 being omitted, and Carlo's aria Io la vidi (originally in Act 1) being moved to Act 3, just before

2976-478: 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. Carlos, Prince of Asturias Carlos, Prince of Asturias , also known as Don Carlos (8 July 1545 – 24 July 1568), was the eldest son and heir apparent of King Philip II of Spain . His mother

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3072-490: 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,

3168-565: The Low Countries in 1559, Philip came to realize his son's inability to be trusted with positions of power. Consequently, instead of fulfilling his promise, Philip granted the position of Governor of the Netherlands to the Duke of Alba . Outraged at being robbed of his position, Carlos attempted to attack the duke but was quickly restrained. In the autumn of 1567, he made another attempt to flee to

3264-446: The Netherlands by asking John of Austria to take him to Italy. John asked for 24 hours to make his decision, during which he revealed Carlos's plan to Phillip who immediately denied permission for the trip. After being denied, Carlos attempted to shoot John of Austria. A servant had unloaded Carlos's gun while he lured John into his room. After Carlos discovered his gun was unloaded, he attacked John with bare hands. After hearing about

3360-486: The Netherlands, until the 20th century, while most Spanish and Italian historians kept claiming that evidence and documentation pointed at a death by natural causes. The idea of King Philip confining and murdering his own son later played a minor role in establishing the anti-Spanish Black Legend in England, and a major one in forming it in the Netherlands, Germany and central Europe. The propaganda created from it formed

3456-470: The Netherlands, which needed to justify a revolt against the king, which subsequently caused The Eighty Years' War . It was later claimed that he was murdered on the orders of King Philip, especially by William the Silent in his Apology , a 1581 propaganda work against the Spanish king. The idea of the poisoning had been held by central and north European historians, based on the pieces of propaganda produced in

3552-525: The Paris finale. In 1975, Charles Mackerras 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 at the London Coliseum. In 1978, Claudio Abbado mounted an expanded five-act version in Italian at La Scala. The cast included Mirella Freni as Elizabeth, Elena Obraztsova and Viorica Cortez as Eboli, José Carreras in

3648-483: The Spanish holdings of his empire to Philip, Carlos's father. While en route to Yuste, the Emperor paused at Valladolid and met his grandson. Perceived as reckless and ill-mannered, Carlos left a poor impression. Charles was so displeased with the prince that he cautioned Philip against bringing him to Flanders for the homage ceremony from the states. In 1559, Carlos became engaged to Elizabeth of Valois , eldest daughter of King Henry II of France . However, to hasten

3744-522: 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,

3840-518: 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 , Oxford , Birmingham , Bristol , Southampton and Liverpool . It

3936-620: The attack, Philip ordered that Carlos be confined in his room without contact to the outside world. Just before midnight on 17 January 1568, Philip II, in armour, and with four councillors, entered Don Carlos' bedchamber in the Alcázar of Madrid where they declared his arrest, seized his papers and weapons, and nailed up the windows. Carlos threatened suicide, which then caused him to be banned from having knives or forks in his room. In addressing public opinion and other European courts, Philip attempted to justify Carlos's imprisonment without revealing

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4032-504: The basis for Friedrich Schiller 's 1787 tragedy Don Karlos, Infant von Spanien . Schiller based his work on a novel written in 1672 by the French Abbé, César Vichard de Saint-Réal , which was also the source used by the English writer Thomas Otway for his play Don Carlos, Prince of Spain . In both works, romantic tragedies that combine nationalism and romantic love, Carlos incarnates

4128-459: 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

4224-399: The confidence of Alexandre Dumas , who reported to him and his students, Rubé, Charles Séchan , Jules Diéterle , Édouard Desplechin , but Rubé wanted to do even better: not only did he try to reproduce the landscapes accurately, he made them picturesque. The setting of the 2nd act of Âme en peine , by Friedrich von Flotow to a libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges , made for

4320-418: The crown, he would abolish the inquisition, and exterminate its agents. These things were sufficient to irritate the inquisitors against the prince: they, accordingly, bent their minds to vengeance, and determined on his destruction. The inquisitors now employed all their agents and emissaries to spread abroad the most artful insinuations against the prince; and, at length, raised such a spirit of discontent among

4416-408: The death of his mother, Carlos was raised by his paternal aunts, Maria and Joanna , until their marriages in 1548 and 1552. His childhood was "emotionally deprived": Philip II spent long periods abroad and, after Joanna's departure, Carlos endured a marked lack of affection. According to the courtier Gamiz, Carlos was spoiled and prone to tantrums. At some point, Philip appointed Honorato Juan as

4512-585: 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 , 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

4608-424: The discovery of music cut before the premiere, conductors began performing five-act versions that included some of it. In 1973 at La Fenice , 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

4704-454: The following about Carlos: One prince, indeed, intended to abolish the inquisition, but he lost his life before he became king, and consequently before he had the power so to do; for the very intimation of his design procured his destruction. This was that amiable prince Don Carlos, son of Philip the Second, king of Spain, and grandson of the celebrated emperor Charles V. Don Carlos, possessed all

4800-460: The good qualities of his grandfather without any of the bad ones of his father; and was a prince of great vivacity, admirable learning, and the most amiable disposition.—He had sense enough to see into the errors of popery, and abhorred the very name of the inquisition. He inveighed publicly against the institution, ridiculed the affected piety of the inquisitors, did all he could to expose their atrocious deeds, end even declared, that if he ever came to

4896-549: The ideal of the romantic knight, noble and brave. He is presented as the lover of young Elizabeth of Valois, Philip's wife, as they both fight for freedom and for their love against a cruel, despotic, merciless, and far-too-old-for-Isabel Philip II and his court of equally cruel and despotic Spaniards. Finally, the hero is defeated by treason due to his excess of nobility. Schiller's play was adapted into several operas , most notably Giuseppe Verdi 's Don Carlos (1867, also known under its Italian title, Don Carlo ). Verdi's opera

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4992-486: 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 and Joseph Thierry (Acts I and III), Édouard Desplechin and Jean-Baptiste Lavastre (Acts II and V), and Auguste Alfred Rubé and Philippe Chaperon (Act IV), it appears to have been

5088-452: 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

5184-579: The marriage was continually postponed by Philip, much to Carlos's frustration. Anna would later become Philip's fourth wife. Beginning in 1560, Carlos suffered recurrent feverish attacks, suspected to be caused by malaria . For the sake of his health, court physicians advised that the prince be moved to Alcalá de Henares . In 1561, Philip arranged for Carlos to be educated in the Universidad de Alcalá de Henares alongside his uncle, Juan of Austria , and cousin, Alexander Farnese . The 15-year-old Carlos

5280-607: The masterpieces of the tragic and comic French actors, which, consumed by gas, was repainted in 1879 by Alexis-Joseph Mazerolle . The last composition he worked on was the curtain of the new Opéra-Comique. The one of the Opera was also his. By the time he died, at the age of eighty, Rubé had become the dean of painters and decorators. He had been made a chevalier of the Legion of Honour , on 14 August 1869. To those who regretted that his painting skills were limited to decoration, he replied with

5376-409: The mind of the king, who was absolutely a slave to superstition, that, shocking to relate, he sacrificed the feelings of nature to the force of bigotry, and, for fear of incurring the anger of the inquisition, gave up his only son, passing the sentence of death on him himself. The prince, indeed, had what was termed an indulgence; that is, he was permitted to choose the manner of his death. Roman like,

5472-421: 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,

5568-546: The opera in French for the first time in 2022 in the Modena version, with tenor Matthew Polenzani in the title role. 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

5664-434: 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

5760-406: The original 1866 translation by de Lauzières, was made by Angelo Zanardini  [ it ] . 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

5856-444: 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

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5952-476: 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

6048-399: The people, that the king was under the necessity of removing Don Carlos from court. Not content with this, they pursued even his friends, and obliged the king likewise to banish Don John, duke of Austria, his own brother, and consequently uncle to the prince; together with the prince of Parma, nephew to the king, and cousin to the prince, because they well knew that both the duke of Austria, and

6144-407: The plate numbers. This subsequently confused some authors, e.g. Francis Toye and Ernest Newman , who dated them to 1883. 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

6240-403: 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

6336-473: The prince of Parma, had a most sincere and inviolable attachment to Don Carlos. Some few years after, the prince having shown great lenity and favour to the Protestants in the Netherlands, the inquisition loudly exclaimed against him, declaring, that as the persons in question were heretics, the prince himself must necessarily be one, since he gave them countenance. In short, they gained so great an ascendency over

6432-464: The prince's actual transgressions or mental state. This absence of transparency fueled widespread speculation that would later be weaponized by Philip's enemies. By July, Carlos's hunger strikes left him in an "appallingly thin" state. On 24 July 1568, the prince died in his room, probably as a result of starvation. His death was used as one of the core elements of the Spanish Black Legend in

6528-442: The prince's tutor, and later García Álvarez de Toledo y Osorio . Carlos began exhibiting violent behavior at a young age, often directing his aggression towards servants and animals. He reportedly once tried to force a shoemaker to eat shoes that he found unsatisfactory. His conduct and character gained notoriety at court, drawing the attention of foreign ambassadors. The Venetian ambassador, Girolamo Soranzo, thought that Carlos

6624-453: The reconciliation between Spain and France, Elizabeth married Philip instead. Three other brides were then suggested for the Prince: Mary, Queen of Scots ; Margaret of Valois , youngest daughter of Henry II of France; and Anna of Austria , who was a daughter of Philip's cousin, Emperor Maximilian II and Philip's sister Maria. Although it was agreed in 1564 that Carlos should marry Anna,

6720-685: The relics of Diego de Alcalá by the prince's bedside. By late May, Carlos's condition began to improve. While Philip credited the miraculous power of the Franciscan corpse, modern historians attribute the prince's recovery to either a trepanation of the skull performed by the anatomist Andreas Vesalius or the application of ointments by a Moorish doctor. After his recovery, Carlos became even wilder, more unstable in his temper and unpredictable in his behaviour. Allegedly, Carlos sympathized with Flemish rebels and made contacts with representatives of Count Egmont and Floris of Montmorency , leaders of

6816-484: The revolt against Philip in the Low Countries. There were purported plans of fleeing to the Netherlands and declaring himself king, with the support of the rebels. While it is known that Carlos harbored a strong desire to go to the Netherlands, most historians have dismissed the theory that he was involved with Flemish insurgents. Throughout 1567, Carlos exhibited escalating emotional instability, marked by violent episodes. One notable incident involved his command to set

6912-654: 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 Milan in 1970. On 22 May 1973, the Opera Company of Boston under the direction of Sarah Caldwell presented a nearly complete five-act French version which included

7008-543: 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. Scene 1: Dawn in King Philip's study in Madrid Alone and suffering from insomnia ,

7104-553: 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

7200-502: 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. Scene 1: The monastery of Saint-Just (San Jerónimo de Yuste ) in Spain The scene takes place soon after King Philip II and Elisabeth have married. Monks pray before

7296-427: 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

7392-503: 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 conducted an expanded five-act version in Italian at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. The cast included Renata Scotto as Elizabeth, Marilyn Horne as Eboli, Giuseppe Giacomini as Don Carlo, Sherrill Milnes as Rodrigo, Nicolai Ghiaurov as King Philip, and James Morris as

7488-520: 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. 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

7584-469: The unfortunate young hero chose bleeding and the hot bath; when the veins of his arms and legs being opened, he expired gradually, falling a martyr to the malice of the inquisitors, and the stupid bigotry of his father. [REDACTED] Unfortunately, the graphic understates his problems. Joanna Trastamara (also known as Joanna of Castille) was mother of Catherine as well. Auguste Alfred Rub%C3%A9 Auguste Alfred Rubé (20 June 1817 – 13 April 1899)

7680-458: 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. Pre-première cuts and first published edition Verdi made a number of cuts in 1866, after finishing

7776-635: The war to an end, and departs. 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

7872-446: Was Maria Manuela of Portugal , daughter of John III of Portugal . Carlos was known to be mentally unstable and was imprisoned by his father in early 1568, dying after half a year of solitary confinement. His imprisonment and death were utilized in Spain's Black Legend . His life inspired the play Don Carlos by Friedrich Schiller and the opera Don Carlos by Giuseppe Verdi . Carlos

7968-461: Was "ugly and repulsive". Another Venetian, Paolo Tiepolo, wrote: "He [Prince Carlos] wished neither to study nor to take physical exercise, but only to harm others." It is unclear whether he had any intellectual disabilities, or whether his intellectual ability was impaired by the 1562 brain injury. In 1556, Emperor Charles V abdicated and retired to the Monastery of Yuste in southern Spain, leaving

8064-455: Was a 1958 staging of the 1886 five-act "Modena version" in Italian by The Royal Opera company, Covent Garden, directed by Luchino Visconti and conducted by Carlo Maria Giulini . The cast included Jon Vickers as Don Carlo, Tito Gobbi 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 and Giulini. After

8160-547: Was a French painter noted especially for his theatre decorations. Born in the 9th arrondissement of Paris , Rubé was an innovator in the field of theatrical set design. This "decorator of rare ingenuity" focused on a local color search corresponding to the Romantic movement . He had been at a good school with his master Pierre-Luc-Charles Ciceri , the designer of the Opéra-Comique , whose daughter he had just married. Ciceri had

8256-573: Was a member of the House of Habsburg and the House of Aviz . Carlos had only four great-grandparents instead of the typical eight, and his parents had the same coefficient of relationship , 25%, which is equivalent to them being half siblings. He also had only six great-great-grandparents, instead of the maximum 16; his maternal grandmother and his paternal grandfather were siblings, his maternal grandfather and his paternal grandmother were also siblings, and his two great-grandmothers were sisters. Following

8352-579: Was born in Valladolid, Spain on 8 July 1545 to double first cousins Philip of Spain and María Manuela of Portugal . His paternal grandfather, Emperor Charles V , was the reigning king of Spain . Carlos's mother Maria died four days after the birth of her son from a hemorrhage she had following the birth. Carlos was born with unequal leg length and lordosis , resulting in his shoulders and stance being asymmetrical. His physical abnormalities and behavioral issues are often attributed to inbreeding as he

8448-462: Was given on 29 December 1886 in Modena, and has become known as the "Modena version", which was published by Ricordi as "a new edition in five acts without ballet". 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 's first season as director of

8544-493: 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 , La forza del destino and Aida 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

8640-517: Was indisputably a failure. Following the unsuccessful performance in Naples 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 ), which replaced some of

8736-689: Was performed by the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto 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 as

8832-517: Was recognised in 1560 as the heir-apparent to the Castilian throne, and three years later as heir-apparent to the Crown of Aragon as well. He was also heir-presumptive to the throne of Portugal as a paternal cousin of King Sebastian . Because of his eminence, he often attended meetings of the Council of State (which dealt with foreign affairs) and was in correspondence with his aunt Margaret , who governed

8928-574: Was recorded on videotape and is now available in a remastered HD video format. A Vienna State Opera production, staged by Peter Konwitschny 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

9024-665: Was removed and the ballet omitted (performed in Milan 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 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:

9120-528: Was restored. 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 , first published in 1980 and in a second, revised version in 1986. 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

9216-540: 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

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