Eboli confesses that she herself had a secret affair with the king. The chaste queen must bid farewell to another lady-in-waiting when the king flies away. Princess Eboli, in love with Carlo, plots out of jealousy against him and the queen. The plot is complicated, sometimes even fussy. Unlike MDLO’s triumph earlier this season with Tourandot, which freed Puccini’s opera from any production distractions and yet was able to deliver the story, the difficult plot of don carlo made the plot twists confusing, as I heard at intermission, for all but the most seasoned Verdi aficionados. Baritone SeungHyeon Baek as Frate under a screening by Sarah Tundermann in “Don Carlo.” Photo by Julian Thomas Photography. Maryland Lyric Opera (MDLO) created its own edited version, and it is always three hours and 20 minutes long. The opera has been pirated, restored, and put into so many versions, including several by Verdi himself, that at its peak it lasts over four hours. Giuseppe Verdi originally composed the opera in French to a libretto by Joseph Méry and Camille du Locle based on German Schiller’s political drama set in 16th century Spain when the Prince of Asturias had to retire, renouncing his engagement to Elisabeth of Valois (Elisabetta), to satisfy Habsburg-Valois relations and the privileged strategic marriage between the woman and her father, King Philip II. And that was one of the many complications. The music was impressive, although at times it created such a wall of sound that it obscured the accomplished singers.
Conductor Louis Salemno led a 72-piece orchestra plus a 20-piece marching band and nearly 80 choristers in the sonorous Strathmore Hall. Don carlo came to us in concert version last weekend produced by the Maryland Lyric Opera, and the sheer weight of the assembled forces could have launched an armada.
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