Don Carlo (Italian version) by Verdi, From (2022/2022), Directed by Charles Roubaud,, Conductor Paolo Arrivabeni, Opéra municipal, Marseille, France

The heart has its reasons that reason of state ignores. But we must yield to the latter when peace between France and Spain is at stake. Nothing is simple for Elisabetta di Valois (Chiara Isotton), destined for Don Carlo (Marcelo Puente, infant with noble dark hues) but united with Filippo II (Nicolas Courjal, monarch already distinguished within these walls). From Paris, where the “grand opera” was created in 1867, to Milan, in a version in four acts, Verdi revised his copy until he fixed the perfect work. Mission accomplished.