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Don Carlos is a five-act Grand Opera
Grand Opera

File:Robert-le-diable.jpgGrand Opera is a genre of 19th-century opera generally in four or five acts, characterised by large-scale casts and orchestras, and lavish and spectacular design and stage-effects, normally with plots based on or around dramatic historic events....
 composed by Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi

Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic music composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers in the 19th century....
 to a French language
French language

French is a Romance language spoken around the world by around 80 million people as first language, by 190 million as second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired tongue, with significant speakers in 54 countries....
 libretto
Libretto

A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, sacred or secular oratorio and cantata, Musical theater, and ballet....
 by Camille du Locle
Camille du Locle

Camille du Locle was a French theatre director and a librettist. He was born in Orange, Vaucluse, France. From 1862 he served as assistant to his father-in-law Emile Perrin at the Op?ra National de Paris, moving in 1870 to the Op?ra-Comique....
 and Joseph Méry
Joseph Méry

Joseph M?ry was a French writer. An ardent romanticist, he collaborated with Auguste-Marseille Barth?lemy in many of his satires and wrote a great number of stories, now forgotten....
, based on the dramatic play Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien
Don Carlos (play)

Don Carlos is a historical tragedy in five acts by Friedrich Schiller, created between 1783 and 1787. The title character is Carlos, Prince of Asturias....
 ("Don Carlos, Infante
Infante

Infante or infanta , also anglicised as infant, was the title and rank given in the European kingdoms of Kingdom of Spain, and Kingdom of Portugal to a son or daughter, and to a grandson or granddaughter in the male line of a reigning monarch , and their woman consorts....
 of Spain") by Friedrich Schiller
Friedrich Schiller

Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller [johan/jo?han kr?st?f fri?t??? f?n ??l??/??l?] was a Germany poet, philosopher, historian, and playwright....
. The story is based on conflicts in the life of Carlos, Prince of Asturias (1545-1568) after his betrothed Elisabeth of Valois
Elisabeth of Valois

?lisabeth of Valois was the eldest daughter of Henry II of France and Catherine de' Medici....
 was married instead to his father Philip II of Spain
Philip II of Spain

Philip II was King of Spain from 1556 until 1598, List of monarchs of Naples from 1554 until 1598, king consort of England, as husband of Mary I of England, from 1554 to 1558, lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories, such as Duke or Count; and King of Portugal as Philip I...
 as part of the peace treaty ending the Italian War of 1551-1559 between the Houses of Habsburg
Habsburg

The House of Habsburg was an important royal house of Europe and is best known as supplying all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1452 and 1740, as well as rulers of Spanish Empire and the Austrian Empire....
 and Valois
Valois

Valois is a district, in the city of Pointe-Claire, Quebec, Canada. It was once a separate village, many years ago, but was then merged with Pointe-Claire....
.






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Don Carlos is a five-act Grand Opera
Grand Opera

File:Robert-le-diable.jpgGrand Opera is a genre of 19th-century opera generally in four or five acts, characterised by large-scale casts and orchestras, and lavish and spectacular design and stage-effects, normally with plots based on or around dramatic historic events....
 composed by Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi

Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic music composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers in the 19th century....
 to a French language
French language

French is a Romance language spoken around the world by around 80 million people as first language, by 190 million as second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired tongue, with significant speakers in 54 countries....
 libretto
Libretto

A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, sacred or secular oratorio and cantata, Musical theater, and ballet....
 by Camille du Locle
Camille du Locle

Camille du Locle was a French theatre director and a librettist. He was born in Orange, Vaucluse, France. From 1862 he served as assistant to his father-in-law Emile Perrin at the Op?ra National de Paris, moving in 1870 to the Op?ra-Comique....
 and Joseph Méry
Joseph Méry

Joseph M?ry was a French writer. An ardent romanticist, he collaborated with Auguste-Marseille Barth?lemy in many of his satires and wrote a great number of stories, now forgotten....
, based on the dramatic play Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien
Don Carlos (play)

Don Carlos is a historical tragedy in five acts by Friedrich Schiller, created between 1783 and 1787. The title character is Carlos, Prince of Asturias....
 ("Don Carlos, Infante
Infante

Infante or infanta , also anglicised as infant, was the title and rank given in the European kingdoms of Kingdom of Spain, and Kingdom of Portugal to a son or daughter, and to a grandson or granddaughter in the male line of a reigning monarch , and their woman consorts....
 of Spain") by Friedrich Schiller
Friedrich Schiller

Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller [johan/jo?han kr?st?f fri?t??? f?n ??l??/??l?] was a Germany poet, philosopher, historian, and playwright....
. The story is based on conflicts in the life of Carlos, Prince of Asturias (1545-1568) after his betrothed Elisabeth of Valois
Elisabeth of Valois

?lisabeth of Valois was the eldest daughter of Henry II of France and Catherine de' Medici....
 was married instead to his father Philip II of Spain
Philip II of Spain

Philip II was King of Spain from 1556 until 1598, List of monarchs of Naples from 1554 until 1598, king consort of England, as husband of Mary I of England, from 1554 to 1558, lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories, such as Duke or Count; and King of Portugal as Philip I...
 as part of the peace treaty ending the Italian War of 1551-1559 between the Houses of Habsburg
Habsburg

The House of Habsburg was an important royal house of Europe and is best known as supplying all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1452 and 1740, as well as rulers of Spanish Empire and the Austrian Empire....
 and Valois
Valois

Valois is a district, in the city of Pointe-Claire, Quebec, Canada. It was once a separate village, many years ago, but was then merged with Pointe-Claire....
. It received its first performance at the Théâtre Impérial de l’Opéra on 11 March 1867.

Over the next twenty years, cuts and additions were made to the opera, resulting in a number of versions being available to directors and conductors. No other Verdi opera exists in so many versions. At its full-length (including the ballet and the cuts made before the first performance), it contains about four hours of music, and is Verdi's longest opera.

Revisions and translation


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 comprised:
  • 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
  • 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 suburb
Suburb

Suburbs are commonly defined as the residential areas which surround the central area of the urban area of a town or city. In the United States, suburbs have a prevalence of usually detached single-family homes.....
s). Verdi then authorised some further cuts, as follows:
  • The introduction to Act 1, with a chorus of woodcutters and their wives, and including the first appearance of Elisabeth
  • A short entry solo for Posa ("J'étais en Flandres") in Act 2, Scene 1
  • Part of the dialogue between the King and Posa at the end of Act 2, Scene 2


The opera, as first published at the time of the première, consisted of Verdi's original conception, minus all of the above cuts but including the ballet.

Further authorised and unauthorised Paris cuts

After the première and before leaving Paris, Verdi authorised the Opéra authorities to end Act 4, Scene 2 with the death of Posa (thus omitting the insurrection scene) if they thought fit. After his departure, further (unauthorised) cuts were apparently made during the remaining performances.

First translation into Italian

A translation of Don Carlos into Italian was in preparation by Achille de Lauzières as early as the autumn of 1866, and Verdi insisted that the opera, still referred to as Don Carlos, be given in the same five act version plus ballet as at the Paris Opera. This Italian translation - with some cuts and alterations - was presented first at the Royal Italian Opera House, Covent Garden in London
London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
 (now the Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House

The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in the London district of Covent Garden. The large building, often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", is the home of Royal Opera, London , Royal Ballet, London and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House....
) on 4 June 1867 (conductor: Michael Costa
Michael Costa (conductor)

Sir Michael Andrew Angus Costa was an Italy-born conducting and composer. He was born in Naples as Michaele Andrea Agniello Costa, to a family, according to some, of Sephardic stock....
), and received its Italian premiere - uncut - at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna
Teatro Comunale di Bologna

The Teatro Comunale di Bologna is an opera house in Bologna, Italy, and is one of the most important opera venues in Italy. Typically, it presents eight operas with six performances during its November to April season....
 on 27 October of that year, conducted by Angelo Mariani
Angelo Mariani (conductor)

Angelo Mariani was an Italians opera conductor and composer. His work as a conductor drew praise from Giuseppe Verdi, Giacomo Meyerbeer, Gioachino Rossini and Richard Wagner, and he was a longtime personal friend of Verdi's, although they became estranged towards the end of Mariani's life....
.

Further revisions to the music and the text

Following an unsuccessful performance in Naples
Naples

Naples is a city in southern Italy, the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples. The city is known for its rich history, art, culture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,800 years old....
 in 1871, Verdi was persuaded to visit the city for further performances in 1872-3, and he made two more modifications to the score:
  • additions to the scene for Posa and the King in Act 2, scene 2 (Italian verses by Antonio Ghislanzoni
    Antonio Ghislanzoni

    Antonio Ghislanzoni was an Italy journalist, poet, and novelist who wrote librettos for Giuseppe Verdi, among other composers, of which the best known are Aida and the revised version of La forza del destino....
    ) to replace some of the previously cut material. This is the only portion of the entire opera that was ever composed by Verdi to an Italian rather than a French text.
  • cuts to the duet between Carlos and Elisabeth in Act 5.


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-Etienne Nuitter
Charles-Louis-Etienne Nuitter

Charles-Louis-?tienne Nuitter was a French librettist, translator, writer and librarian born in Paris, France on 24 April 1828. He died there on 23 February 1899 after suffering a stroke a few days before....
, who had worked on French translations of Macbeth
Macbeth (opera)

Macbeth is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi, with an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave and additions by Andrea Maffei, based on Shakespeare's Macbeth....
, La forza del destino
La forza del destino

La forza del destino is an Italian opera by Giuseppe Verdi. The libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on a Spanish drama, Don ?lvaro, o La fuerza del sino , by ?ngel de Saavedra, Duke of Rivas, with a scene adapted from Friedrich Schiller's Wallensteins Lager....
, and Aida
Aida

Aida an Arabic female name meaning "visitor" or "returning") is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette ....
 with du Locle, and the three proceeded to spend nine months on major revisions of the French text and the music to create a 4-act version. This omitted Act 1 and the ballet, and was completed by March 1883.

Revised Italian translation

An Italian translation of this revised French text, re-using much of the original 1866 translation by de Lauzières, was made by Angelo Zanardini. The La Scala
La Scala

The Teatro alla Scala , in Milan, Italy, is one of the world's most famous opera houses. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778, under the name Nuovo Regio Ducal Teatro alla Scala with Antonio Salieri Europa riconosciuta....
, Milan
Milan

Milan is the second largest city of Italy, located in the plains of Lombardy. It is the capital in the Province of Milan, as well as the Regions of Italy capital of Lombardy....
, première of the revision, now re-titled Don Carlo, took place on 10 January 1884.

Although Verdi had accepted the need to remove the first act, it seems that he changed his mind and allowed a performance on 29 December 1886 in Modena
Modena

Modena is a city and a comune on the south side of the Padan Plain, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy.An ancient town, it is the seat of an archbishop, but is now best known as "the capital of engines", since the factories of the famous Italian sports car makers Ferrari, De Tomaso, Lamborghini, Pagani and...
 which presented the “Fontainebleau’’ first act along with the revised 4-act version. This version was published by Ricordi
Giulio Ricordi

Giulio Ricordi was an Italy editing and musician.Ricordi was born in Milan, where he also died.With the nickname Jules Burgmein, Ricordi contributed a very great deal to the prestige of the Casa Ricordi, publishing company of his family....
 as “a new edition in five acts without ballet”.

Subsequent performance history

Performances of Don Carlos/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 1883 'Milanese' version. Following the notable 1958 staging of the 1886 five-act Italian version at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden (director Luchino Visconti
Luchino Visconti

Luchino House of Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo was an Italian theatre director and film director and writer, best known for films such as The Leopard and Death in Venice ....
), this version has increasingly been performed elsewhere and has been recorded by, among others, Georg Solti
Georg Solti

Sir Georg Solti, Order of the British Empire was a Hungary-United Kingdom orchestral and operatic Conducting....
 and Carlo Maria Giulini
Carlo Maria Giulini

Carlo Maria Giulini was an Italy conducting, and viola....
.

Finally, stagings and recordings of the original five-act French version of the opera have become more frequent, performances having been given at the Teatro alla Scala in 1970 featuring Plácido Domingo
Plácido Domingo

Jos? Pl?cido Domingo Embil Order of the British Empire , better known as Pl?cido Domingo, is a Spanish tenor, known for his versatile and strong voice, possessing a ringing and dramatic tone throughout its range....
 with Katia Ricciarelli
Katia Ricciarelli

Katia Ricciarelli is an Italian soprano....
, at the Théâtre du Châtelet
Théâtre du Châtelet

The Th??tre du Ch?telet is a theatre and opera house in Paris, France. One of two theatres built on the site of a ch?telet, a small castle or fortress, it was designed by Gabriel Davioud at the request of Baron Haussmann between 1860 and 1862....
 in 1996, with Roberto Alagna
Roberto Alagna

Roberto Alagna is a France operatic tenor of Sicilian descent. He was born in Clichy-sous-Bois, Seine-Saint-Denis, France....
 as Don Carlos (which has been released on CD and DVD), and at the San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera

San Francisco Opera is the second largest opera company in North America after the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. It was founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola ....
 in 2003. A five-act version with the parts not performed in the first Paris première (all the pre-première cuts) was staged at Staatsoper, Vienna
Vienna

Vienna is the Capital of Republic of Austria and also one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.7 million...
 (2006) and at Liceu
Liceu

The Gran Teatre del Liceu , or simply Liceu in Catalan language, Liceo in Spanish language), is an opera house on La Rambla, Barcelona in Barcelona, Catalonia ....
, Barcelona
Barcelona

Barcelona is the capital and most populous city of the Autonomous communities of Spain of Catalonia and the second largest city in Spain, with a population of 1,615,908 in 2008, while the population of the Metropolitan Area was 3,161,081....
; its conductor was Bertrand de Billy
Bertrand de Billy

Bertrand de Billy, , is a France conducting.After his career as an instrumental musician, de Billy began his conducting career in Paris. He later moved to Germany and built up his career as an opera conductor....
.

Roles

RoleVoice typePremiere Cast
11 March 1867
(Conductor: Hainl)		Revised version
Première Cast
10 January 1884
(Conductor: - )
Philip II, (Filippo) King of SpainbassLouis-Henri ObinAlessandro Silvestri
Don Carlos (Don Carlo), Infante of Spaintenor
Tenor

The tenor is a type of male voice type and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between the C one octave below middle C to the A above in choral music, and up to high C in solo work....
A. MorèreFrancesco Tamagno
Francesco Tamagno

Francesco Tamagno was an Italy opera singer who performed to enormous acclaim in Europe and America.The most famous heroic tenor of his age, Tamagno was celebrated throughout the operatic world for the extreme power of his singing, especially in the upper register....
Rodrigue (Rodrigo), Marquis of Posabaritone
Baritone

Baritone is a type of European classical music male voice type that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice....
Jean-Baptiste Faure
Jean-Baptiste Faure

Jean-Baptiste Faure was a celebrated France baritone and composer.Faure was born in Moulins. A choirboy in his youth, he entered the Paris Conservatory in 1851, and made his operatic debut the following year at the Op?ra-Comique as Pygmalion in Mass?'s Galath?e....
Paolo Lhérie
The Grand InquisitorbassDavidFrancesco Navarini
Elisabeth of Valoissoprano
Soprano

A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four part chorale style harmony the soprano takes the highest part which usually encompasses the melody....
Marie-Constance SassAbigaille Bruschi-Chiatti
Princess Ebolimezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano

A mezzo-soprano is a type of European classical music female voice type whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above ....
Pauline Gueymard-LautersGiuseppina Pasqua
A monkbassArmand CastelmaryLeopoldo Cromberg
Thibault (Tebaldo), page to ElisabethsopranoLeonia LeveillyAmelia Garten
A Voice from Heavensoprano  
The Count of LermatenorGaspardAngelo Fiorentini
Royal HeraldtenorMermantAngelo Fiorentini
Countess of ArembergsilentDominique 
Flemish deputies, Inquisitors, Ladies and Gentlemen of the Spanish Court, the people, Pages, Guards, Monks, Soldiers - chorus


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
Fontainebleau

Fontainebleau is a commune in France in the aire urbaine of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the Kilometre Zero. Fontainebleau is a sous-pr?fecture of the Seine-et-Marne d?partement in France, being the seat of the Arrondissement of Fontainebleau....
, France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of 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, son of the King of Spain, will bring the war to an end, and departs

[This 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]


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, but then reveals his 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, and Thibault informs Elisabeth that her hand is to be claimed not by Carlos but by his father, Philip II. Lerma and his followers confirm this, and Elisabeth feels bound to accept, in order to consolidate the peace. She departs for Spain, leaving Carlos devastated.

Act 2

[This Act is Act 1 in the 1883 revision]


Scene 1: The monastery of Saint-Just (San Jerónimo de Yuste
Yuste

Yuste is a small village in the province of C?ceres in the autonomous communities in Spain of Extremadura, Spain.In 1556 Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor retired to the Monastery of Yuste, near Cuacos de Yuste, after having abdicated the Spanish crown in favour of his son Philip II of Spain and the crown of the Holy Roman Empire in favour...
) in Spain

Monks pray for the soul of the Emperor Charles V. His grandson Don Carlos enters, anguished that the woman he loves is now married to his father.

[In the 1883 revision, he sings the aria "Je l'ai vue" / "Io la vidi", salvaged from the omitted first Act]


A monk resembling the former emperor offers him eventual consolation of peace through God. Carlos's friend Rodrigue, Marquis of Posa, has just come from the oppressed land of Flanders (Aria: "J'étais en Flandres")

[This was cut during the pre-première rehearsals]


He asks for the Infante's aid on behalf of the suffering people there. Carlos reveals that he loves his stepmother. Posa encourages him to leave Spain and go to Flanders. 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 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 and an alluring veiled beauty that turned out to be his neglected wife. Elisabeth enters. Posa delivers a letter from France (and secretly a 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. Meanwhile, Eboli is hopeful that it is her that Carlos loves.

When they are alone, Don Carlos asks Elisabeth to request Philip to send him to Flanders. She promptly agrees, provoking Carlos to renew his declarations of love, which she resists because they are now mother and son. After the Infante leaves, the King finds the Queen unattended, and orders her lady-in-waiting, the Countess of Aremberg, to return to France. Elisabeth asks the Countess to say farewell to France on her behalf, and comforts her by telling her that at least she will be returning to her homeland (Aria: "Oh ma chère compagne" / "Non pianger, mia compagna"). The King approaches Posa. Refusing to listen to the latter's pleas for Flanders, he nevertheless places his trust in him, while advising him to beware of the Grand Inquisitor.

[This duologue was revised three times by Verdi]


Act 3

[This Act 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 days'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

[This scene was omitted from the 1883 revision]


[The ballet, (choreographed by Lucien Petipa
Lucien Petipa

Lucien Petipa was a French ballet dancer in the early 1800s and was the brother of the famous balletmaster of the Russian Imperial Ballet , Marius Petipa....
 and entitled "La Peregrina") took place at this point in the première]


Don Carlos enters. He has received a note suggesting a tryst in the gardens, which he thinks is from Elisabeth, but which is really from Eboli, to whom he mistakenly declares his love. The disguised Eboli realizes that he thinks that she is the Queen, and Carlos is horrified that she now knows his secret. When Posa enters, she threatens to tell the King that Elisabeth and Carlos are lovers. Carlos prevents Posa from stabbing her, and she exits in a vengeful rage. Posa asks Carlos to entrust to him any sensitive 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 historic city and municipality in north-central Spain, upon the Pisuerga River and within the Ribera del Duero wine-making region. It is the capital of the Valladolid and of the autonomous communities of Spain of Castile and Leon, therefore is part of the historical region of Castile ....


The people rejoice at the impending coronation of the King and Queen, while monks lead in those condemned to death by the Inquisition. The royal procession follows, and the King addresses the populace, but Don Carlos brings in some Flemish deputies, who plead with the King for their country's freedom. The people and the court are sympathetic, but the King, supported by the monks, orders the deputies' arrest. Carlos draws his sword against the King, whose call for the Infante to be disarmed is not obeyed until Posa steps forward. He persuades Carlos to surrender his sword, and is rewarded with a dukedom by the King. The auto-da-fe
Auto-da-Fé

Auto-da-F? is a 1935 novel by Elias Canetti; the title of the English translation refers to the burning of heretics by the Inquisition. The book was banned by the Nazis and did not become widely known until after the worldwide success of Canetti's Crowds and Power ....
 begins, and, as the flames start to rise, a heavenly voice can be heard promising peace to the condemned souls.

Act 4

[This Act is Act 3 in the 1883 revision]


Scene 1: Dawn in King Philip's study in Madrid

Alone, 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
El Escorial

El Escorial is an historical residence of the king of Spain. It is one of the Spanish royal sites and functions as a monastery, royal palace, museum and school....
 (Aria: "Elle ne m'aime pas" / "Ella giammai m'amò"). The blind, ninety-year-old Grand Inquisitor is announced. The King asks if the Church will object to his putting his own son to death, and the Inquisitor replies that God sacrificed His own son. Ascertaining that the King has nothing more to say to him, he accuses Posa of worse crimes than Carlos, notably of being a reformist, and, when Philip protests, he implies that the Inquisition could even hold the King to account. The Inquisitor leaves, and the King reflects that he is powerless before the demands of the Church. Elisabeth enters, alarmed at the apparent theft of her jewel casket, but the King produces it and points to the portrait of Don Carlos which it contains. She protests her innocence, and, when Philip accuses her of adultery, she faints and he calls for help. Eboli and Posa appear, and a quartet ("Maudit soit le soupçon infâme" / "Ah, sii maledetto, sospetto fatale") develops. The King realises that he has wronged his wife; Posa resolves to act, though it may mean his death; Eboli feels remorse for betraying Elisabeth; the latter, recovering, expresses her despair.

[This quartet was revised by Verdi in 1883]


The two women are left together. A duet, "J'ai tout compris", was cut before the première. Eboli confesses not only that she stole the casket because she loved Carlos and he rejected her, but, worse, she has also been the mistress of the King. Elisabeth tells her that she must go into exile or enter a convent, and exits. Eboli, alone, curses the fatal pride that her beauty has bestowed on her, chooses the convent over exile, and resolves to try to save Carlos from the Inquisition (Aria: "O don fatal" / "O don fatale").

Scene 2: A prison

Don Carlos has been imprisoned. Posa arrives to tell him that he will be saved but that he himself will have to die, incriminated by the politically sensitive documents which Carlos had entrusted to him (Aria, part 1: "C'est mon jour suprème" / "Per me giunto è il di supreme"). Two men, one dressed in the uniform of the Inquisition and the other carrying an arquebus
Arquebus

The arquebus is an early Muzzle -loaded firearm used in the 15th to 17th centuries. In distinction from its predecessor, the hand cannon, it has a matchlock....
, appear, unseen by Carlos and Posa. The latter is shot, and the men disappear. Posa tells Carlos that Elisabeth will meet him at Saint-Just on the following day, and says 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"). After his death, Philip enters, offering his son freedom. Carlos repulses him.

[A duet included at this point for Carlos and the King, cut before the première, was later re-used by Verdi for the Lacrimosa
Lacrimosa (Requiem)

The Lacrimosa is part of the Dies Irae Sequence in the Requiem. Its text comes from the 18th and 19th stanzas of the sequence. Many composers, including Mozart, Berlioz, and Verdi have set the text as a discrete movement of the Requiem....
 in his Requiem
Requiem (Verdi)

The Messa da Requiem by Giuseppe Verdi is a musical setting of the Roman Catholic Church funeralMass . It was first performed on 22 May 1874 in music to mark the first anniversary of the death of Alessandro Manzoni, an Italy poet and novelist much admired by Verdi....
]


Bells ring, and Elisabeth, Eboli and the Grand Inquisitor arrive, while a crowd demands the release of Carlos and threatens the King. In the confusion, Eboli escapes with Carlos, while the Grand Inquisitor forces the people onto their knees and order is restored.

[After the première, some productions ended this Act with the death of Posa; 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 Act is Act 4 in the 1883 revision]


The moonlit monastery of Saint-Just

Elisabeth kneels before the tomb of Charles V. She is committed to help Don Carlos on his way to fulfil his destiny in Flanders, but she herself longs only for death (Aria: "Toi qui sous le néant" / "Tu che le vanità"). Carlos appears and they say a final farewell (Duet: "Au revoir dans un monde où la vie est meilleure" / "Ma lassù ci vedremo in un mondo migliore").

[This duet was twice revised by Verdi]


Philip and the Grand Inquisitor enter: the King declares that there will be a double sacrifice, and the Inquisitor confirms that the Inquisition will do its duty. A short summary trial follows.

[This was omitted in 1883]


Carlos, calling on God, draws his sword to defend himself against the Inquisitor's guards, when, from the tomb of Charles V, the Monk emerges to lead Carlos away into the safety of the monastery. Philip and the Inquisitor are convinced that it is Charles V himself.

Instrumentation
Instrumentation

Instrumentation is the branch of science that deals with measurement and control.An instrument is a device that measures or manipulates variables such as flow, temperature, level, or pressure....

  • woodwind
    Woodwind instrument

    A woodwind instrument is a musical instrument which produces sound when the player blows air against an edge of, or opening in, the instrument, causing the air to vibrate within a resonator....
    s    : piccolo
    Piccolo

    The piccolo is a small flute. The piccolo has the same fingerings as its larger component, the flute, but the sound it produces is an octave higher than written....
     (doubling on flute
    Flute

    The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike other woodwind instruments, a flute is a reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air against an edge....
    ), 2 flute
    Flute

    The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike other woodwind instruments, a flute is a reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air against an edge....
    s, 2 oboe
    Oboe

    The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois", "hoboy", or "French hoboy"....
    s (2nd doubling on English horn), 2 clarinet
    Clarinet

    The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The name derives from adding the suffix -et meaning little to the Italian word clarino meaning a particular type of trumpet, as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet....
    s, 4 bassoon
    Bassoon

    The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the Bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher....
    s
  • Brass
    Brass instrument

    A brass instrument is a musical instrument whose tone is produced by vibration of the lips as the player blows into a tubular resonator. They are also called labrosones, literally meaning "lip-vibrated instruments" ....
    : 4 horns, 3 cornet à pistons
    Cornet

    Not to be confused with coronetThe cornet is a brass instrument very similar to the trumpet, distinguished by its conical Bore , compact shape, and mellower tone quality....
    , 2 trumpet
    Trumpet

    The trumpet is a musical instrument with the highest Register in the brass instrument family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BC....
    s, 3 trombone
    Trombone

    The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass instrument family. Like all brass instruments, it is a lip-reed aerophone: sound is produced when the player?s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate....
    s, bass tuba
    Tuba

    The tuba is the largest and lowest pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped Mouthpiece ....
  • percussion
    Percussion instrument

    A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound by being hit with an implement, shaken, rubbed, scraped, or by any other action which sets the object into vibration....
    : timpani
    Timpani

    Timpani are musical instruments in the percussion instrument family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a drumhead stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper, and more recently, constructed of more lightweight fiberglass....
    , bass drum
    Bass drum

    A bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch . There are three general classifications of bass drums: the concert bass drum, the kick' drum, and the pitched bass drum....
    , cymbal
    Cymbal

    Cymbals are a modern percussion instrument. Cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various cymbal alloys; see cymbal making for a discussion of their manufacture....
    s, triangle
    Triangle (instrument)

    The triangle is an idiophone type of musical instrument in the Percussion instrument family. It is a bar of metal, usually steel in modern instruments, bent into a triangle shape....
    , bell
    Bell

    Bell may refer to:...
    s in F sharp and E flat
  • harp
    Harp

    The 'harp' is a stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicular to the Sounding board. It is also considered to be a percussion instrument....
  • strings
    String section

    The string section is the largest body of the standard orchestra and consists of bow string instruments of the violin family.It normally comprises five sections: the first violins, the second violins, the violas, the cellos, and the double basses ....
  • On-stage Band: clarinet
    Clarinet

    The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The name derives from adding the suffix -et meaning little to the Italian word clarino meaning a particular type of trumpet, as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet....
     in D, 2 clarinet
    Clarinet

    The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The name derives from adding the suffix -et meaning little to the Italian word clarino meaning a particular type of trumpet, as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet....
    s in A, 4 horns, 2 flugelhorn
    Flugelhorn

    The flugelhorn is a brass instrument resembling a trumpet but with a wider, conical Bore . Some consider it to be a member of the saxhorn family developed by Adolphe Sax ; however, other historians assert that it derives from the keyed bugle designed by Michael Saurle , Munich 1832 , thus predating Adolphe Sax's innovative work....
    s, 2 trumpet
    Trumpet

    The trumpet is a musical instrument with the highest Register in the brass instrument family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BC....
    s, bass flugelhorn, 3 trombone
    Trombone

    The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass instrument family. Like all brass instruments, it is a lip-reed aerophone: sound is produced when the player?s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate....
    s, bombardon, double bass
    Double bass

    The double bass or contrabass is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow string instrument used in the modern orchestra. It is a standard member of the string section of the orchestra and smaller string musical ensembles in European classical music....
    , harmonium, harp


Recordings


See Don Carlos discography
Don Carlos discography

This is a list of recordings of Don Carlos, an opera by Giuseppe Verdi, also known as Don Carlo in its Italian-language versions.Don Carlos received its first performance as a five-act, French grand opera at the Th??tre de l'Acad?mie Royale de Musique in Paris on 11 March 1867....
.


See also


  • Cultural depictions of Philip II of Spain
    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....


Bibliography

  • Budden, Julian, The Operas of Verdi, Volume III, London: Cassell, Ltd, 1984 ISBN 0-304-31060-3
  • Phillips-Matz, Mary Jane, Verdi: A Biography, Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1994 ISBN 0-19-313204-4


External links