Don Carlos
Grand Opéra by Giuseppe Verdi in five acts

Don Carlos, the son of King Philip II of Spain, has decided to go his own way, both politically and in his private life. When his father forces him to give up his love for Elizabeth of Valois, he decides to dedicate his life to Flanders’ struggle for freedom against his father, the Spanish occupier. So this opera has a lot to do with the history of Flanders. At the auto-da-fé, Flemish envoys demonstrate against the repression by the Spanish Inquisition, together with Don Carlos.
Verdi based his Don Carlos on
Schiller’s play of the same title; he initially wrote the work as a
grand opéra for Paris, revised it several times and in the end
translated it into Italian. In a pioneering production for the Wiener Staatsoper, the leading contemporary opera director Peter Konwitschny
staged the original French version Don Carlos once again, the five-act
work whose world premiere took place in Paris. This version is now
coming to Belgium for the first time and is also the first piece to be
directed by Konwitschny in this country. It will be a gripping
production that combines the historical with the contemporary and also
involves the audiences directly in the performance. With its large cast
of numerous extras and a chorus of 80, this prestigious production
conducted by the Verdi specialist Alexander Joel will bring fresh life
to the original Don Carlos.
Timing | With the support of : |
Start 6.30 pm | |
Pause 8.30 pm and after Act III | |
End ± 11.20 pm | |