Giuseppe Verdi's Five Act Grand Opera, Don Carlo
Although composer Giuseppe Verdi’s five act grand opera, Don Carlo, was performed in Italian, translation is not required in order for love, war, politics, friendship, and betrayal to be unveiled. First performed in Paris in 1867, the plot amazingly unfolds through the dynamics and tempo of orchestral music and through the beautiful musical score of voices ranging from soprano to bass by the opera performers.
The opera’s dialogue was a French language libretto by Joseph Mery and Camille du Locle. In the first act of this dramatic play, Elisabeth, a French Princess, and Don Carlo, the Infante of Spain, who are engaged to be married, meet for the first time. Just as their duet, a combination of soprano and tenor, reveals love at first sight,
it is announced that the war between France and Spain has ended. By way of a soprano arias, it announced that as a condition of the peace treaty, Elisabeth’s hand is to be given in marriage to the King of Spain, Don Carlo’s father. While Elisabeth’s soprano arias eloquently displays her nostalgia, Don Carlo’s tenor arias delivers a powerful message of heartbreak.
Throughout the play, the stage remarkably transitions from a snow covered forest, to a monastery, and to the King’s study to name a few. The lighting of the stage is appropriate for the atmosphere and music. The ensuing four acts are a combination of duets and choruses with a wide range of vocal timbre. Another poignant duet, though many, this one of tenor and baritone between Don Carlo and his friend Rodrigo, the Marquis of Posa, divulges a meaningful friendship. Towards the end of the play, there is an ensemble which conveys betrayal and love lost and the play ends with the piercing pain of Elisabeth’s arias in soprano after Don Carlo is slain.
Inherently, Don Carlo enthralls the audience with its broad range of vocal talent, change in scenery on stage, and of course with a story filled with exciting drama that attracts viewers to the opera. The effect of the voices in opera is so profound that language is not a barrier.
The opera’s dialogue was a French language libretto by Joseph Mery and Camille du Locle. In the first act of this dramatic play, Elisabeth, a French Princess, and Don Carlo, the Infante of Spain, who are engaged to be married, meet for the first time. Just as their duet, a combination of soprano and tenor, reveals love at first sight,
it is announced that the war between France and Spain has ended. By way of a soprano arias, it announced that as a condition of the peace treaty, Elisabeth’s hand is to be given in marriage to the King of Spain, Don Carlo’s father. While Elisabeth’s soprano arias eloquently displays her nostalgia, Don Carlo’s tenor arias delivers a powerful message of heartbreak.
Throughout the play, the stage remarkably transitions from a snow covered forest, to a monastery, and to the King’s study to name a few. The lighting of the stage is appropriate for the atmosphere and music. The ensuing four acts are a combination of duets and choruses with a wide range of vocal timbre. Another poignant duet, though many, this one of tenor and baritone between Don Carlo and his friend Rodrigo, the Marquis of Posa, divulges a meaningful friendship. Towards the end of the play, there is an ensemble which conveys betrayal and love lost and the play ends with the piercing pain of Elisabeth’s arias in soprano after Don Carlo is slain.
Inherently, Don Carlo enthralls the audience with its broad range of vocal talent, change in scenery on stage, and of course with a story filled with exciting drama that attracts viewers to the opera. The effect of the voices in opera is so profound that language is not a barrier.