Don Carlo

Music Lesson

Focus: Opera is an art form that connects music to other Fine Arts. TEKS: Music, Grade 5: 5A, 5B, 5E Music, Grade 6: 5A, 5B, 5D Music, Grade 7: 5A, 5B, 5D Music, Grade 8: 5A, 5B. 5D High School Music, Levels I-IV: 5A, 5B, 5C, 5D Objectives:

1. The students will identify the musical style and historical period of Verdi’s Don Carlo. 2. The students will identify and describe the uses of opera in society and culture. 3. The student will identify music-related vocations and avocations related to opera. 4. The student will define the relationships between the content, the concepts, and the

processes of other fine arts, other subjects, and those of music.

Materials Needed: Summary of Don Carlo “About Verdi” “A Brief History of Opera” Internet access and visual/audio projection system Background Information: See “About Verdi” See “A Brief History of Opera” Setting the Stage: Carlo and Rodrigo (the Marquis of Posa) sing a duet, “Dio, che nell’alma infondere amor,” in the beginning of the opera, establishing their strong friendship, as well as their intense desire to fight for liberty. They sing a prayer in the middle of the piece, which contains a musical theme that returns during key moments between the two friends in the opera. English translation of the Italian lyrics: Oh God, who wished to instill love and hope in our souls, Thou must kindle within our hearts a desire for liberty; Thou must kindle within our hearts a desire for liberty.

Don Carlo

Music Lesson Teaching Suggestions: The students will:

1. Read and listen to information provided about Verdi and Don Carlo. 2. Read and listen to information provided about the history of opera. 3. Listen to a performance of “Dio, che nell’alma infondere amor” while watching the

musical score at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrdL5UlclcY Begin at minute 4:10 to hear the main friendship/liberty theme.

4. Listen to a performance of “Dio, che nell’alma infondere amor” while watching a Metropolitan Opera stage production of DON CARLO at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMuYV23d42U Begin at minute 3:45 to hear the main friendship/liberty theme.

Reflection: 1. Compare and contrast the two musical experiences.

Which one helped you understand the story better? How and why? Which one helped you understand the music better? How and why? What are some skills necessary to become an effective opera singer?

2. Create a list of jobs necessary to produce an opera.

How is opera connected to subjects other than music?

3. Explain how other Fine Arts that are connected to opera. What purpose does opera serve in society and culture?

Extension Activities: Attend Austin Lyric Opera’s production of Don Carlo at The Long Center for the Performing Arts on November 16, November 21, or November 24, 2013. Compare and contrast the experience of watching an excerpt online to watching the entire story in person.

Was it what you expected? What was your favorite part? What would you have done differently if you were the director?

Additional Resources: See The Metropolitan Opera Educator Guide for Don Carlo: http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/about/education/educatorguides/content.aspx?customid=13868

Don Carlo

Synopsis

The story of Don Carlo is based upon the life of Carlos, Prince of Asturias (1545 – 1568). Carlos

was betrothed to Elizabeth of Valois (1545 – 1568), the daughter of France’s King Henry II. For

political reasons, Elizabeth was ultimately married to Carlos’ father, Philip II of Spain.

Synopsis courtesy of The Metropolitan Opera

Act I

Carlo seeks peace at the monastery of St. Just in Spain, where he prays at the tomb of his

grandfather, Emperor Charles V. He is confronted by a monk who seems to be the emperor’s

ghost. His friend Rodrigo, the Marquis of Posa, arrives to remind Carlo of his commitment to

the cause of the Flemish people who are oppressed by Spanish rule. Both pledge themselves to

the cause of liberty and swear eternal friendship (Duet: “Dio, che nell’alma infondere amor”).

In a garden outside the monastery, Princess Eboli entertains the other ladies of the court

with a song (“Nel giardin del bello”). Elisabeth—now queen—enters, followed by Posa, who

hands her a secret letter from Carlo, asking for a meeting. When he is admitted, Carlo asks the

queen to obtain Philip’s permission for him to go to Flanders, and then suddenly declares his

continuing love. Elisabeth rejects him and Carlo rushes off. The king enters and, finding the

queen unattended, banishes the Countess of Aremberg, who should have been present.

Left alone with the king, Posa bravely asks Philip to end his oppression of the Flemish

people. Philip refuses but is impressed by Posa’s courage. He warns him to beware of the

Inquisition and tells Posa about his suspicions of his wife and Carlo, asking Posa to watch them.

Posa accepts the assignment, knowing that being in the king’s confidence will help him in the

future.

Act II

Carlo has received a letter asking him to a secret meeting at midnight in the queen’s

gardens in Madrid. He thinks the meeting is with Elisabeth, but in fact the woman is Princess

Eboli, who is in love with him. When Carlo discovers her identity, he rejects her. Eboli, realizing

where the prince’s true feelings lie, swears to expose him. Posa arrives in time to overhear Eboli

and threatens to kill her but is stopped by Carlo. Eboli leaves. Posa persuades Carlo he is now in

danger and Carlo hands over some secret papers to him for safekeeping.

At a public burning of heretics in front of Valladolid Cathedral, Carlo leads a group of

Flemish deputies to Philip. The king rejects their pleas for freedom. When he also dismisses

Carlo’s own request to rule Flanders, the prince draws his sword on his father. He is disarmed

by Posa and arrested. In thanks, Philip makes Posa a duke. As a group of heretics is led to the

stake, a celestial voice welcomes their souls into heaven.

Don Carlo

Synopsis

Act III

In his study at night, the king reflects on his life with a wife who doesn’t love him (“Ella

giammai m’amò!”). He consults with the old and blind Grand Inquisitor, who consents to the death

sentence for Carlo: as God sacrificed his son to save mankind so Philip must stifle his love for his

son for the sake of the faith. The Inquisitor also demands that Posa be handed over to him. As he

leaves, Philip wonders if the throne must always yield to the altar. Elisabeth enters, having

discovered that her jewel case has been stolen. Eboli, who knows that Elisabeth keeps a portrait of

Carlo in it, had taken the box and given it to the king. Philip now hands it to Elisabeth and demands

she open it. When she hesitates, he breaks it open and finds the portrait. He accuses her of adultery.

Elisabeth collapses and the king calls for help. Eboli and Posa rush in, he to express amazement that

a king who rules half the world cannot govern his own emotions, she to feel remorse at what her

jealousy has brought about. Alone with Elisabeth, Eboli confesses that she not only falsely accused

her but that she has been the king’s mistress. Elisabeth orders her from the court. Eboli laments her

fatal beauty and swears to spend her final day in Spain trying to save Carlo (“O don fatale”).

Posa visits Carlo in prison to tell him that he has used the secret papers to take upon himself

the blame for the Flemish rebellion. He is now a marked man, so Carlo must take up the cause of

liberty for Flanders. Posa is shot by agents of the Inquisition. As he dies he tells Carlo that Elisabeth

will meet him at the monastery of St. Just and declares he is happy to have sacrificed his life for a

man who will become Spain’s savior (“Per me giunto è il dì supremo”).

Act IV

Elisabeth has come to the monastery, wanting only her own death (“Tu, che le vanità”).

When Carlo appears, she encourages him to continue Posa’s quest for freedom in Flanders and they

hope for happiness in the next world. As they say goodbye, Philip and the Grand Inquisitor arrive.

As the agents of the Inquisition move in on Carlo, a monk who resembles Charles V appears

insisting that suffering is unavoidable and ceases only in heaven.

Giuseppe Verdi (1813 – 1901)

Giuseppe Verdi was born in a small village near Bussetto, Italy on October 10, 1813. He

showed an early aptitude for music and began assisting the town’s organist when he was only 7.

By age 13, he was the assistant conductor of the Bussetto orchestra. When he was denied

admission to the Milan Conservatory in 1831 (he was over the age limit), he chose to study

privately with Vincenzo Lavigna, a former harpsichordist and maestro at La Scala. For the next

five years, he moved back and forth between Milan and Bussetto.

In November 1839, Verdi’s first opera Oberto was premiered at La Scala. The success of this

work secured him a contract for 3 more operas. While composing his second opera, a comedy

entitled Un Giorno di Regno, Verdi lost both of his children and his beloved wife to illness. The

opera was a terrific failure and he vowed to never again compose a comedy. Bartolomeo

Merelli, the maestro at La Scala, convinced Verdi to read the libretto for Nabucco. He was very

deeply moved by the biblical story and the opera premiered to great success in 1842. Verdi

referred to this opera as the beginning of his musical career. One of the choruses from Nabucco

“ Va, pensiero” became a sort of Italian national anthem and Verdi himself became a leading

figure in the movement for a united Italy.

Giuseppe Verdi (1813 – 1901)

Over the next 11 years, Verdi composed 16 more operas. The zenith of these

productive years came between 1851 and 1853. It was during this time that three of his

most popular operas premiered. Rigoletto was a huge success at it’s premier in Venice in

1851. Il Trovatore and La Traviata premiered within six weeks of each other in 1853. At

age 40, Verdi, now famous, was the most frequently performed Italian opera composer in

Europe. In the following years, Verdi devoted more time to travel; he remarried and flirted

with politics. His composing days were, however, far from over. He enjoyed great success

with his final three operas. Aida premiered in 1871. Following a fifteen year hiatus, Verdi,

in his seventies, brought forth the dramatic masterpiece Otello (1887) and the comic tour de

force Falstaff (1893). In all, Verdi composed 28 operas, including several in substantially

different versions.

While Verdi was a well schooled musician, he placed a greater emphasis on

emotional sensibility. He wrote memorable melodies that not only carefully propel the

dramatic plot but also linger in the memory. These melodies are the lifeblood of his operas.

Regarding Il Trovatore, Verdi remarked “I think, if I am not mistaken, that I have done

well; but at any rate I have done it the way that I felt it.”