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© Wiener Staatsoper | Frol Podlesny
Don Carlo
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September 2026 | ||||||
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Don Carlo – Giuseppe Verdi | Opera
Dramma lirico in four acts (Milan version, 1884)
Text: Angelo Zanardini & Achille de Lauzières & Camille du Locle
Language: Italian
after the French libretto of the opera by Joseph Méry and Camille du Locle in the Italian translation by Achille de Lauzières & Angelo Zanardini
About the work
The Spanish heir to the throne, Don Carlo, was supposed to marry the French princess Elisabeth. After their first meeting, they fall in love. Unexpectedly, the Spanish King Philip II announces that he himself intends to marry Elisabeth. Elisabeth submits to this decision for reasons of state. The liberal Marquis Posa advises his desperate friend Don Carlo to engage politically for a better future for Flanders. However, this brings Don Carlo and Posa into a dangerous confrontation with the powerful Grand Inquisitor.
Acts 1 & 2 – approx. 105 minutes
Interval – approx. 25 minutes
Acts 3 & 4 – approx. 80 minutes
Storyline
Act 1 & 2
Emperor Charles V - once the most powerful ruler in the world - laid down the insignia of his power in the monastery of San Yuste to end his life in the solitude of spiritual meditation.
Don Carlo, Infante of Spain, commemorates his happy meeting with the French princess Elisabeth, who had been promised to him, in Fontainebleau in the monastery of San Yuste. However, Elisabeth was then married by his father, King Philip II, and made queen and thus Carlo's stepmother. Carlo is met by his childhood friend, the Marquis of Posa, who has returned from the Flandrian provinces, which were oppressed by the Spanish. Posa convinces Don Carlo to go to Flanders as the savior of the threatened people. Philip and Elisabeth enter the monastery to pray at the tomb of the supposedly deceased emperor.
In a garden not far from the monastery, Princess Eboli entertains the retinue of ladies-in-waiting with a Moorish song. When the queen appears, the Marquis of Posa is reported. The Marquis manages to secretly deliver a message from Carlo to the Queen and request a secret audience for him. Princess Eboli, the king's mistress, misunderstands his hints and believes that the Infante has fallen in love with her.
Alone with the queen, Carlo can no longer hide his feelings. Elisabeth, who still loves the prince but is aware of her duty as queen, implores the desperate man to renounce the fulfillment of his love.
When the king finds his wife unaccompanied, he expels the Countess of Aremberg, who is responsible for this, from court. Elisabeth bids farewell to the exile.
Posa describes the misery of the people of Flanders to the ruler. Philip, who takes a liking to Posa's courageous language, decides to draw him close to him as his confidant, but warns him of the power of the Inquisition. Don Carlo has accepted an invitation to a rendezvous in the royal park in Madrid, assuming that Elisabeth has sent it to him. When a veiled woman approaches, he storms her with declarations of love. Too late, he realizes that he has revealed his secret to Princess Eboli. Posa arrives and tries to silence the dangerous confidant, but Carlo falls into his arms. The princess, wounded in her pride, swears revenge. The Marquis has his friend hand over all the political letters that could endanger him.
A large crowd has gathered in front of Madrid Cathedral to attend an auto-da-fé, the public execution of heretics condemned by the Inquisition. At the head of a deputation from Flanders, Don Carlo approaches the king to demand the regency of the subjugated provinces. When the king rejects this request, the prince, overcome with rage, draws his sword. None of the greats of the realm come to the aid of the threatened ruler until Posa disarms his friend and is then elevated to duke by Philip. The auto-da-fé continues. The flames of the pyre blaze up, while a voice from heaven promises the victims eternal peace.
Act 3 & 4
King Philip laments the loneliness and burden of his office. Conflicted by his conscience, he seeks advice from the blind Grand Inquisitor.
The latter encourages him in his intention to punish the Infante's rebellion with the utmost severity, but in turn demands the life of the Marquis of Posa, whom he suspects of being a free spirit. Philip initially resists, but ultimately submits to the power of the Church.
The queen makes a lively complaint to her husband about the theft of her jewelry box and finds it on the king's desk. When Philip opens the casket and discovers the portrait of the Infante inside, he accuses his wife of adultery. Princess Eboli and the Marquis of Posa rush to the aid of the fainting princess. Alone with the queen, the princess confesses her betrayal of Carlo and her secret liaison with the king. She is banished to a convent by Elisabeth.
Posa visits the imprisoned Infante in the dungeon to explain his actions and bid him farewell. With the help of the letters given to him, he has deflected any suspicion of conspiracy with Flanders from Carlo to give his friend the opportunity, as the future king, to help the oppressed peoples gain their right to live.
A shot from the ambush hits the Marquis in the back and, dying, he refers his friend to the Queen, who wishes to see Carlo one last time. The king enters the dungeon to return the sword to his son. Carlo accuses him of murdering his friend. The outraged people demand the Infante's release. When they turn against the king in rebellion, the aged Grand Inquisitor takes up arms. The people fall to their knees before his threat.
In the monastery of San Yuste, the Queen awaits the Infante, who is about to leave for Flanders, for a final farewell. The two lovers renounce all fulfillment of their love. The King and the Grand Inquisitor join them. As the henchmen of the Inquisition are about to lay hands on the prince, a mysterious monk, whose voice is reminiscent of that of the secluded emperor, takes Don Carlo away from his pursuers.
Program and cast
Philip II: Günther Groissböck
Don Carlo: Vittorio Grigolo
Rodrigo, Marquis of Posa: Étienne Dupuis
The Grand Inquisitor: Ain Anger
A Monk: Dan Paul Dumitrescu
Elisabetta: Elena Stikhina
Eboli: Eve-Maud Hubeaux
Tebaldo: Ilia Staple
Musical direction: Pier Giorgio Morandi
Stage direction, set design, costumes: Kirill Serebrennikov
Co-costume designer: Galya Solodovnikova
Choreography and assistant director: Evgeny Kulagin
Set design collaboration: Olga Pavluk
Lighting: Franck Evin
Video: Ilya Shagalov
Music dramaturgy: Daniil Orlov
Vienna State Opera
Public Transport
Subway lines: U1, U2, U4
Trams: 1, 2, D, J, 62, 65
Buses: 59A
Local Railway: Badner Bahn
Stops: Karlsplatz / Opera
Taxi stands are available nearby.
Parking
Parking is only € 6, - for eight hours!
The Wiener Staatsoper and the ÖPARK Kärntner Ring Garage on Mahlerstraße 8, under the “Ringstraßengalerien”, offer the patrons of the Vienna State Opera a new, reduced parking fee. You can park in the Kärntner Ring Garage for up to 8 hours and pay only a flat fee of € 6, -. Just validate your ticket at one of the discount machines inside the Wiener Staatsoper. The normal rate will be charged for parking time greater than 8 hours. The validation machines can be found at the following coat checks: Operngasse, Herbert von Karajan-Platz, and the right and left and balcony galleries.
Important: In order to get the discount, please draw a ticket and do not use your credit card when entering the garage!
After devaluing your ticket in the Wiener Staatsoper you can pay comfortably by credit card or cash at the vending machines.
The machines accept coins and bills up to 50.- Euro. Parking time longer than 8 hours will be charged at the normal rate.
History
The structure of the opera house was planned by the Viennese architect August Sicard von Sicardsburg, while the inside was designed by interior decorator Eduard van der Nüll. It was also impacted by other major artists such as Moritz von Schwind, who painted the frescoes in the foyer, and the famous "Zauberflöten" (“Magic Flute”) series of frescoes on the veranda. Neither of the architects survived to see the opening of ‘their’ opera house: the sensitive van der Nüll committed suicide, and his friend Sicardsburg died of a stroke soon afterwards.
On May 25, 1869, the opera house solemnly opened with Mozart's Don Giovanni in the presence of Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elisabeth.
The popularity of the building grew under the artistic influence of the first directors: Franz von Dingelstedt, Johann Herbeck, Franz Jauner, and Wilhelm Jahn. The Vienna opera experienced its first high point under the direction of Gustav Mahler. He completely transformed the outdated performance system, increased the precision and timing of the performances, and also utilized the experience of other noteworthy artists, such as Alfred Roller, for the formation of new stage aesthetics.
The years 1938 to 1945 were a dark chapter in the history of the opera house. Under the Nazis, many members of the house were driven out, pursued, and killed, and many works were not allowed to be played.
On March 12, 1945, the opera house was devastated during a bombing, but on May 1, 1945, the “State Opera in the Volksoper” opened with a performance of Mozart's THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO. On October 6, 1945, the hastily restored “Theaters an der Wien” reopened with Beethoven's FIDELIO. For the next ten years the Vienna State Opera operated in two venues while the true headquarters was being rebuilt at a great expense.
The Secretary of State for Public Works, Julius Raab, announced on May 24, 1945, that reconstruction of the Vienna State Opera would begin immediately. Only the main facade, the grand staircase, and the Schwind Foyer had been spared from the bombs. On November 5, 1955, the Vienna State Opera reopened with a new auditorium and modernized technology. Under the direction of Karl Böhm, Beethoven’s FIDELIO was brilliantly performed, and the opening ceremonies were broadcast by Austrian television. The whole world understood that life was beginning again for this country that had just regained its independence.
Today, the Vienna State Opera is considered one of the most important opera houses in the world; in particular, it is the house with the largest repertoire. It has been under the direction of Dominique Meyer since September 1, 2010.
© Wiener Staatsoper | Frol Podlesny
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