Don Carlo

A war of religion rages across Europe. Heretics are burned at the stake. No one is safe. Not even the king. But the heart knows no impediment— not scandal, not treason, not death—in Giuseppe Verdi’s epic masterpiece Don Carlo.

Michael Fabiano stars as Carlo, son and heir to the king of Spain, whose love for the princess Elisabetta is dashed when his father claims her as his bride. Caught in a web of courtly intrigue and machinations, Carlo is forced to make a fatal choice: loyalty or love?

The San Francisco Chronicle hails Don Carlo as an “opulently cast endeavor” with a “commanding” René Pape as King Philip II, a “splendid” Nadia Krasteva as the scheming princess Eboli and a “muscular and elegant” Mariusz Kwiecien as the advisor Rodrigo.

As Elisabetta, soprano Ana María Martínez brings “purity and force” to her role, opposite a “perfectly suited” Fabiano in his role debut. See director Emilio Sagi’s classic production for one weekend only, starting Saturday, April 17, at 10 a.m. Pacific. Nicola Luisotti conducts. Directed for the screen by Frank Zamacona.