A new production of Verdi’s Don Carlo opens the Royal Danish Opera’s new season

Three Nordic opera houses have joined forces to present a visually stunning new production of Verdi’s masterpiece, Don Carlo, opening the Royal Danish Opera’s new season on 8 September at the Opera House in Copenhagen.

Davide Livermore, the celebrated Italian director renowned for his groundbreaking approach, directs this production. He partners with Giò Forma, the Milan-based design team whose work graces prestigious opera houses as well as high-profile events for the likes of Katy Perry, Rihanna, Giorgio Armani, and Versace.

In the tragic Spanish love triangle of Don Carlo, the protagonist’s beloved Elisabetta, and his father, Re Filippo II, young love is sacrificed for the sake of peace. An arranged marriage between Filippo II and Elisabetta becomes a necessary sacrifice to maintain stability in the kingdom.

Political messages are a recurring theme in Verdi’s operas, and Don Carlo is a powerful story of love, friendship, idealism, politics, and duty, all set against the backdrop of the brutal and oppressive Inquisition.

Davide Livermore and the Giò Forma design team have brought the story into a more contemporary context by setting it against the backdrop of political persecution during the Franco dictatorship. The past merges with a recognisable present through the spectacular set design, which combines classic, expressionistic elements inspired by the Spanish painters Goya and Velázquez with a lavish aesthetic. 

Exceptional singers
Verdi’s beautiful and dramatic music will be interpreted by powerful voices from around the world. The cast includes Danish world-renowned bass Stephen Milling as Filippo II, the Opera’s Reumert-award-winning Verdi interpreter, Gisela Stille, making her debut as Elisabetta, BBC Cardiff Singer of the World 2021, Gihoon Kim, performing the role of Rodrigo, and the award-winning American tenor Matthew White as Don Carlo.

This production is a collaboration with the Norwegian National Opera and the Finnish National Opera.

Don Carlo will be performed in Italian with Danish and English surtitles.

Don Carlo | New Production | Opera House, Main Stage | 8 September 2024
Read more about Don Carlo and see the full cast here.