NPR World of Opera
Don Carlo, by Giuseppe Verdi

This week, we'll hear Verdi's Don Carlo from Houston Grand Opera. Don Carlo is a brilliant and compelling drama, with some of Verdi's most finely-wrought and stirring music, and a couple of the greatest individual characters to be found in any opera.

Don Carlo can also be quite maddening. It's long, for one thing. Too long, even, to fit into NPR World of Opera's normal time slot. We had to get an "extension" this week. The story is complicated -- based on a Schiller drama that's full of confusing details. And many of those details had to be incorporated into the opera, or the motivations for the characters' sometimes baffling actions would be unclear. Actually, they're often unclear anyway. Then there's the ending. Depending on the production, the opera's final moments can seem downright nonsensical.

Yet, in spite of all this, Don Carlo is a serious drama, worth your serious consideration. Some of the reasons for that we've mentioned above. For more of them, you can LISTEN to a bit of this week's NPR World of Opera, with host Steve Curwood.

For the story itself - presented in a way that's not quite so serious - we give you a plot synopsis:

ACT I:
Don Carlo is the son of Phillip, King of Spain. To cement peace between the Spain and France, Carlo has been betrothed to a Frenchwoman, Elisbeth de Valois. But Carlo has never met Elisabeth, so he's gone looking for her in the woods outside Paris as things get underway. Carlo sees her from afar and, wouldn't you know it, he's in love at first sight. Then he meets her, and she feels the same way; they can hardly keep their hands off each other. But, it turns out Phillip, the King, wants to be absolutely certain of the peace. So he decides to marry Elisabeth himself. She's not got much choice in the matter so she heads to the royal altar, leaving Carlo a withered, lovesick lump of his former, dashing self.

ACT II:
Back in Spain, Don Carlo is still a mess. His best friend, Rodrigo, has just returned from Flanders, where the people are suffering under Phillip's rule. They meet at a cloister, near the grave of Carlo's grandfather, King Charles V, and Carlo runs into a spooky monk who reminds him of Granddad Charles. Rodrigo wants Carlo to go Flanders with him and "learn to rule" by helping the Flemish win their freedom. Carlo agrees, and thinks maybe his father, Phillip, will give him the governorship of Flanders. But Phillip is ignoring Carlo. To make things worse, so is Elisabeth - who is now Queen, and no dummy. She knows better than to get mixed up with Carlo, who is still lovesick and is now her stepson.

The pouting Carlo manages to get an audience with Elisabeth, and tearfully confesses his love, to the point of swooning. She still loves him, too. But she's realistic. Elisabeth tells Carlo, "Sure, we can be together. All you have to do is murder your father, the King, and shack up with your stepmother." Fat chance. Then the King has a talk with Rodrigo, who is a good guy at heart, and trustworthy. Phillip is worried about Elisabeth's fidelity, and wants Rodrigo to stay close and keep an eye on her. He also warns the left-leaning Rodrigo to stay clear of the Inquisition.

ACT III:
Carlo turns up in the Queen's Garden, in Madrid, at midnight. He has an anonymous note, from a woman, asking him to meet her there. He assumes its from Elisabeth. Instead, a Princess named Eboli shows up. She's been at a party and is wearing a veil. Carlo thinks she's Elisabeth, and pours his heart out. Eboli has a thing for Carlo, and thinking he knows who she is, pours her heart out in return. Then she takes off the veil. Carlo stammers and stutters. Eboli figures out what's going on, and threatens to tell the King that his son is in love with the Queen. Rodrigo shows up and takes all of Carlo's secret papers pertaining to Flanders. For what reason, we currently have no idea.

The act ends with an "auto-da-fé" - that lyrically named ceremony in which the Inquisition burns heretics at the stake. The King is about to lead these toasty proceedings when Carlo interrupts the royal procession. He demands to be made governor of Flanders. Phillip tells him to "fuhgeddaboutit." Rather unwisely, Carlo draws a sword on dear ol' dad, and Rodrigo is forced to disarm him. As the heretic roast continues Phillip makes Rodrigo a Duke, and Carlo goes to jail.

ACT IV: King Phillip meets with the Grand Inquisitor - an old, ugly, blind man with the power to kill anyone in the country any time he feels like it. Phillip doesn't really want to execute Carlo, though that's what seems in order. The Inquisitor says a father's love is nothing compared to the duties of the faith. He also suggests that the King might want to hand Rodrigo over to the Inquisition, too. The King says no way, but is left to rethink things when the Inquisitor reminds him that they've been known to roast the odd King or two along with the heretics.

When the Inquisitor takes off, Elisabeth bursts in, mad about her missing jewelry box. Turns out the King has it, and when he breaks it open finds a miniature portrait of Carlo inside - which he thinks confirms his worst suspicions. Rodrigo and Eboli join them, and in a great quartet Verdi's music makes it plain even to Phillip that Elisabeth has never been unfaithful. Eboli and Elisabeth are left alone for some girl talk. Eboli admits that she was mad as a snake after Carlo blew her off, and gave the Queen's jewelry box to Phillip. She also confesses to another little tidbit: she's Phillip's mistress. Elisabeth sends her off to a nunnery. Eboli goes, but wants to help Carlo escape along her way.

At the prison Carlo meets with Rodrigo, who is too nice a guy for his own good. Rodrigo has let himself be found with Carlo's secret papers about Flanders. Now the King is after Rodrigo and is on his way to free Carlo. But before he gets there, an Inquisition rifleman sneaks in and shoots Rodrigo. When the King does arrive, he's closely followed by a riotous mob, demanding Carlo's head. Eboli also turns up. She urges Carlo to take advantage of the confusion, and skedaddle, which he does.

ACT V:
We're back at the Cloister, from Act II, by the grave of Charles V, Phillip's father and Carlo's grandfather. Carlo is with Elisabeth, who tells him he might as well leave town and head for Flanders to be a freedom-fighter. He's says OK, and they say their fond farewell. But Phillip shows up - not to mention the Grand Inquisitor. King Phillip is about to hand son Carlo over to the Inquistion and a flaming death. But suddenly, Charles V himself steps out from behind the tomb - that's right, from behind his own tomb. As everyone stares in amazement, the supposedly-dead king grabs Carlo and drags him into the cloister, to safety, and the opera ends.

Honestly, that really is what the libretto says happens! In the original Schiller, the ending is a bit more predictable: Carlo gets handed over to the Inquisition to be executed. But no matter. Carlo was kind of a sad sack, all along. He never did get the hang of dealing with harsh reality and, whether he's dead or in a cloister, the real world is no longer his concern.

And trust us. In spite of everything, you should tune in for this one. It really is a great opera!

LINKS:

Houston Grand Opera
A more traditional libretto
Libretto of the Opera, in Italian