Don Carlos meets and falls in love with Princess Elisabeth in France. She falls in love with Carlos. Elisabeth must marry his father, King Philip, and becomes his mother and Queen.  Princess Eboli, mistress to King Philip, loves the King’s son, Don Carlo. Philip loves his son, but the Catholic Church orders his death. Rodrigo, The Marquis of Posa, loves Don Carlo and is willing to sacrifice his life to save his. And here we have some of the plot twists of Verdi’s opera, “Don Carlo.” 

Forget the dead Emperor Charles V who may or may not be knocking about his tomb, and the people of Flanders, oppressed by the Church and Philip’s State, and the Grand Inquisitor burning heretics at the stake in the public square. The real story for many of us is the heated and oft-repeated love between Rodrigo, Marquis of Posa, Grandee of Spain, and Prince Carlos, heir to the Spanish throne. Dimitri Pittas is Carlo and Terry Cook is Posa in the dazzling Opera Philadelphia production now at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia until May 3. Both men are handsome, good actors, and incredibly hot together as they continually profess their love to each other. Both men sang the living daylights out of their respective roles. If these roles can be sung better anywhere else in the world, the Sunday matinee audience on April 26 didn’t believe it. The acclaim was an uproar. Buy your tickets now.

As if Schiller didn’t pack enough drama into this story, there also was a definite 21st-century intrigue. Michelle De Young, scheduled to sing Eboli, becomes ill. She cannot sing, but will walk through the part. A famed mezzo, Ekaterina Gubanova, will really sing from the stage apron as de Young walks the role onstage. “Gran Dio!” You may exclaim.  Tremendous is the only word to describe Miss Gubanova’s Eboli. Half-hidden in darkness by the edge of the stage, she delivered a terrifying and true performance. Brava! Both women walked out together to tumultuous audience acclaim at the end of the performance.

In addition to the magnificent Mr. Pittas, Mr. Cook, and Ms. Gubanova, Eric Owens was a much anticipated King Philip. Also outstanding in their roles were Morris Robinson and Leah Crocetto. Tim Albery directed and Corrado Rovaris conducted.

“Don Carlos” will appear on the Academy of Music stage in Philadelphia on April 29, May 1, and May 3. Visit their website for details: https://www.operaphila.org