Verdi’s grand opera about love, ambition and intrigue is set in 16th-century Spain,80th “Maggio Musicale Fiorentino”, based upon the life of Carlos, Prince of Asturias (1545-1568). Carlos was betrothed to Elizabeth of Valois (1545-1568), the daughter of France’s King Henry II but for political reasons, Elizabeth was ultimately married to Carlos’ father Philip II of Spain.

Based on the 1787 dramatic poem by Friedrich Schiller, Don Carlo was first performed at the Paris Opéra in 1867 where politics and religion were dangerously entwined. Verdi made extensive revisions to the opera over the following 20 years, and this production follows the four-act 1886 version performed at one of the newest Opera Houses in the world, the Opera di Firenze. The Opera di Firenze has pioneered the perception of opera worldwide, demonstrating it can be both traditional and innovative. Their blend of the classic and contemporary puts Opera di Firenze at the centre of opera, guiding its future for years to come.

Conductor: Zubin Mehta
Stage director: Giancarlo del Monaco
Set designer: Carlo Centolavigna
Costume designer: Jesús Ruiz
Light designer: Wolfgang Zoubek
Orchestra and Chorus of “Maggio Musicale Fiorentino”

Don Carlo: Fabio Sartori
Elisabetta: Julianna Di Giacomo
Filippo II: Dmitry Beloselskiy
Rodrigo  Massimo Cavalletti
Eboli: Ekaterina Gubanova
Tebaldo: Simona Di Capua
Il Conte di Lerma: Enrico Cossutta

Production ABAO-OLBE-Bilbao, Opera House of Oviedo, Teatro de la Maestranza-Seville, Tenerife Opera Festival