Fully staged opera in partnership with CT Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra and Connecticut Lyric Opera.
Don Carlo is one of the most enigmatic, yet profoundly beautiful operas Giuseppe Verdi ever composed. The story takes place in the mid-1500s, at the time of the Spanish Inquisition, and it’s loosely based on historical characters and events. The title character, Don Carlo, is the son of Spain’s King Phillip II, and he is clearly both bewitched and bothered. He is betrothed to Princess Elizabeth of Valois, the King of France’s daughter, but he finds that the recent peace terms with France assigns her to be his father’s bride instead! Heartbroken, Don Carlos finds another cause when his friend says that they must save the Flanders region. As the plot thickens, another woman, the Princess Eboli, who turns out to be his father’s mistress, is in love with Don Carlos. The high Inquisator rules the day, as Don Carlo finally comes together with Princess Elizabeth.
“Still, in typical fashion, Verdi took all of the story’s complexities and confusions and left us with a great opera. It’s a work that takes just about every moral dilemma imaginable and gives them all recognizable, human faces. And they’re the sort of faces one sees every day — sometimes, even in the mirror….” NPR