Psyche collapse in five acts. Don Carlos in Paris with Marina Rebecca in Queen Elizabeth role / day

Even if you have seen Joseph Verdi in the past Don Carlos The production of the Paris Bastille Opera is worth attending this show again. Contemporary theater classic – Polish director Kishtof Varlikovsky – staged Don Carlos The premiere in Paris took place in October 2017. The first in the form was sang by superstars: German tenor Jonas Kaufmanis (Don Carlos), Bulgarian soprano Sona Jončeva (Elizabeth Valua), Latvian mezzo -soprano Elina Garanča (Princess Eboli), Russian bass Ildar Abdrazakov (King Philip II) and French baritone Ludovik Ludovik. At the conductor’s desk was the Swiss Maestro Philip Zhordan.

Soprano Marina Rebeka (Elizabeth) and tenor Charles Castronovo (Don Carlos) in the opera Don Carlos. Photo – Frank Fervill

Currently, American tenor Charles Castronovo, Latvian soprano Marina Rebeka, Russian mezzo -soprano Yekaterina Gubanova, American bass bass, Christian Kristian van Horn and Polish baritone Andrew Andrew Andrew Filonchik, sings in the monumental and love drama. The soloist ensemble in the show is able to change everything – this one is quite different Don Carlosvery different from what was heard in 2017. The eight shows cycles that will continue at the Bastille Opera until April 25 are conducted by Australian Simon Yang.

The court and the church captured

It is a special pleasure – listen to Paris Don Carlos the original version in five acts in French. Verdi’s work was made by the Opera of the Paris, premiering on March 11, 1867. The libretto is based on Friedrich Schiller drama, whose action is in Spain, in which political intrigue, religious conflicts and impossible love stories intertwine. Don Carlos Marks a new direction in Verdi’s creative work – the score is gloomy and dramatically saturated, and the inner life of the characters is influenced by complex political, religious and moral dilemmas. Verdi enters the French Grand Opéra/The Great Opera (historical epic, five acts, the presence of a ballet and a mighty choir) without losing its characteristic melodic richness and showing both the loneliness that power and the cravings of freedom bring with you. Don Carlos Passions have been inspired by director Kšštofs Varlikovski to discover the secret inner world of heroes – court and church captives.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7RMPGLE8LY

In Opera Don Carlos Most often one of the modified and abbreviated versions of the later in Italian. If the poster is written « Don Carlos », you are waiting for opera in French. If you write Don Carlo, you will sing in Italian. It should be noted that Kishtof Varlikovsky’s performance in 2019 was adapted to the Bastille Opera Don Carlos The Italian version, but this time the opera is again executed in French.

Eskorjala maze

Conductor Simon Yang is rapidly and energetic the musical development of the opera, and she paints Verdi’s sophisticated historical fresco along with all the performers. There is nothing in the show, there is a feeling of movement all the time, the Paris Opera Orchestra and the choir is in great shape. Don Carlos The soloist ensemble is balanced, there is no stellar ego clash, and the artists have a common goal – in their game they show what is happening in the king’s family, court and head. The world collapses, relationships, the mind blurres. Director Kishtof Varlikovsky is trying to find the existential truth of each hero, recalling the heavy burden of heritage and crown, the violence of political and religious power. The characters are trapped in the labyrinth of the Spanish King’s Residences – Escorjala.

View of Joseph Verdi Don Carlos Stage Paris Bastille Opera. Photo – Frank Fervill

Kishtof Varlikovsky’s show is a multimedia psychotriller in which everyone gradually smells in mind or loses the motivation to live. The action takes place in a deformed, split reality, perhaps here and now, perhaps in the recent past, maybe Don Carlos’ consciousness shortly before death. The production has a grand and breathable visual design (scenography and costumes), an effective and precise Felis Rosa light score and surreal video projections of Deneal Gegen.

Queen

Emperor Charles V grandson and King Philip II Don Carlos (1545-1568) – a real historical figure – has suffered from psychological disorders and physical abnormalities associated with his origin and radur. Most people have eight grandparents, but Don Carlos had only four. Such a family concentration allowed Habsburgs to retain power over significant areas for decades. Don Carlos was considered an unstable and violent young person, according to the show’s program.

Tenor Charles Castronovo represents the title role in the opera Don Carlos. Photo – Frank Fervill

The image of the title verdi in the opera is slightly changed, but he is still a fragile and sensitive person under the severity of political power. We see such a Don Carlos in a portrait of Tenor Charles Castronovo. He has very sensual scenes with Soprano Marina Rebecca Elizabeth Wall – Carlos and Elizabeth love each other, but she is forced to marry his father Philip II. In 2018, Charles Castronovo and Marina Rebekah have already performed together on the Bastille Opera Stage Verdi Traviat.

The Latvian Prime, without any obvious effort, fills the huge hall with its voice and nuanced acting. In France, Marin Rebekah loves both the audience and the critics – she has sung in Paris and other cities in performances and concerts. 4th April after Don Carlos Shows for Marina Rebekah were presented on the Internet Magazine Forum Opéra prize Life on the stage/Une Vie Sur Scène.

This is a convincing debut of Marina Rebecca in the Elizabeth Party, the Ovation Finals have been honored. In an interview with the portal Opera Online She says she had repeatedly abandoned this role so far Don Carlos The Italian version, but this time has finally accepted the offer.

« This opera can be perceived as a transitional period between bel canto And verism. When portraying Elizabeth, it is important to remember her nobleness. The voice sound must be leveled and even throughout the range. Queen Elizabeth has a strong character, but she is very fragile. Even when singing in the low register, the royal and noble sound must be preserved. Elizabeth with self -esteem tries to control his emotions. This role helps to develop voice in all registers. It is lyrical and everything is based on the quality of the sound, « emphasizes Marina Rebeka.

Royal Pair – Marina Rebekah (Elizabeth) and Kristian van Horn (Philip II) – after the first Opera sung in Paris Don Carlos Shows on March 29, 2025. Photo – Jegor Jerohomovich

Always about people

The role of Elizabeth proves how masterful and elegant Marina Rebeka has learned to play the sad queens – women with a sophisticated trajectory of destiny that do not promise anything good. She is irresistible both in interaction with her husband Philip II in the third act (Queen’s gaze and body language expresses as much as her voice) and in a scene with Princess Eboli in the fourth act in which Marina Rebecca and Yekaterina Gubanov show the highest class of vocal art. In this duel, their voices sound perfectly together, and the singers feel perfectly in the style. Elizabeth, with an openly talk to Eboli, is almost invisibly pulled on the shoes and pulls them back at the end of the dramatic scene. A detail as a drawn shoes makes the show unforgettable.

Basbaritone Christian van Horn (Philip II) and mezzo -soprano Yekaterina Gubanova (EBoli) in the opera Don Carlos. Photo – Frank Fervill

Kishtof Varlikovsky always creates productions about people, not archetypes and symbols. Every character is credible, every one causes sympathy because he has not found happiness or fulfillment – both jealous, vengeous intrigue Eboli, both a constructive friend of Don Carlos Rodrigo, and a destabilized, lonely Macho Philip II, who sometimes does not cope with his greatness.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1pbnkiuleu

Philip II debuts Kristian van Horn, who radiates the authority of masculinines and the emotional emptiness and powerlessness of the King’s existence. The king is most lacking in the warmth of the family – the throne and the crown are cold weapons. This Don Carlos Be sure to hear!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KG-FM1H5NVO

On April 6 and 9, the Historical of the Paris National Opera, the Historical – Garnier Castle, can still be heard by modern French composer Pascal’s dissapene and librettist Frederick damages the opera Dante’s journey/Il viaggio, dante (2022) inspired by the great Italian author Divine comedy. The very beautiful, modern director Klaus’s production is conducted by Kent Nagano. Danti is portrayed in the show’s outstanding Danish baritone Bo Skovhus.

Don Carlos

Conductor Simon Yang, director Kishtof Varlikovsky
In the Paris Bastille Opera 9, 12, 17, 20 and 25
www.operadeparis.fr