Since 1950s, Verdi's opera creation has entered a mature stage. His important representative works are The Clown (translated by Rigoletto, 185 1), The Bard (1853), La Traviata (1853) and La Traviata (1). Compared with heroic operas with early historical themes, mature operas not only depict the characters' personalities and psychological states in a profound and meticulous way, but also closely link the characterization of characters with the development of plots. The layout and structure of music have also changed obviously, becoming flexible, organic and coherent, and orchestral music has also changed its subordinate position and played a positive role. At that time, his operas were not only performed in large theaters in European countries, but also in small theaters, hotels, gardens and streets. Therefore, people often call him "the music master of the Italian revolution". Verdi wrote twenty-six operas in his life and was known as the "King of Opera".

Verdi's opera Don Carlo is a heavyweight masterpiece and an ambitious work in all his opera creations, no matter from the scene, twists and turns, ups and downs, or from many people with complex personality characteristics. Opera is adapted from Schiller's play of the same name, which belongs to the great opera style prevailing in European drama circles at that time. To some extent, Don Carlo is the greatest opera of the greatest Italian opera writer. Don Carlo is an ambitious work because the story is too large (this opera almost squeezes the contents of two operas into one opera). Secondly, this opera is full of all kinds of feelings: contradictions and emotional entanglements between men and women, between friends, between father and son, between husband and wife, between countries, and even between the church and secular countries. The depth, touching and shocking depicted are the best in Verdi's operas.

The opera Don Carlo has only five main characters, which are interspersed in extremely complicated stories. It is often difficult for people to distinguish the relationship and contradiction.

1. King Philip II and Marquis Bertha:

In Schiller's poems, Philip II is depicted in many ways. He is a hard-hearted and opinionated man. His only concern is the security of the kingdom and the purity of religion. He and Count Posa are actually two opposing sides. For the benefit of the Flemish people in the future, Posa obviously obeyed Philip II and became the most trusted figure of the king. But Posa always tries to encourage Carlo to help the people of Flanders. Because of Carlo's reckless action, Posa had to put Carlo in prison to protect his safety. Then, Posa wrote a letter to his former friend accusing himself and gave it to the king, exchanging his life for Carlo's freedom. He called out to the king: "Your Majesty, please allow freedom of thought"! Philip II himself was in a deep contradiction: his expectation and love for his son always existed in his heart, but this deep humanity was finally broken by the ruthless reality. Under the pressure of politics and the church, he finally said to the chief justice of religion, "I have done everything I should for Carlo, and I will leave the rest to you to follow the laws of the Holy See." In order to show his responsibility to the kingdom, Philip II destroyed his last bit of humanity.

2. Don. Carol:

Like Hamlet, he is a lonely thinker. However, all Hamlet's pains and contradictions are hidden in his heart. And don. Carlo is similar to Major Ferdinand in plot and love, and his behavior is straightforward and impulsive. This is a typical image of emotional youth in that era. In addition, due to his credulity, his relationship with Count Posa was influenced and misunderstood. Especially in the end, this misunderstanding ended in the self-sacrifice of Count Posa, which really became a huge contrast of his personality defects. This weakness in personality gives Verdi a lot of room to express the Italian tenor with dark psychological feelings for Carlo in his opera.

3. Two women:

Queen Elizabeth always plays the role of a noble female who consciously defends human dignity. In the play, her language and singing are very powerful. Let readers feel yearning and think of this weak woman's firm belief in human nature and ideals in the dust age of history. Princess April, another protagonist in the play, is a proud and enthusiastic female image. Her relationship with Carol is full of misunderstandings. Even as a negative female image, it is typical and complicated. After learning about Carlo's love for the Queen, she wanted to "snatch love with a horizontal knife", which showed her viciousness. On the one hand, she is an insulted and hurt person and the king's mistress. Driven by jealousy, she gave the king a pendant engraved with Carol's portrait, but it didn't help her at all. Finally, she regretted it and was expelled from the palace. On the other hand, she also insulted and hurt others. Her alienation shows the image of the oppressed as oppressors. It provides the best example for us to understand and get close to women.

The following is Verdi's opera Don. Carlo's main contents and scenes:

Act I Scene I St. yust Abbey

Behind the chapel is the tomb of Emperor Carlos V, and in the middle is a group of monks praying. Carol and Elizabeth have been in love for a long time, but for political reasons, Elizabeth married Carol's father Philip II. Prince Carlo was deeply saddened by the hopelessness of love. Desperate Carlo, come here to pray for inner peace. A monk approached him and whispered, "The pain in the world has followed you to the monastery, and the war in your heart can only be calm in heaven." This voice is very similar to that of his grandfather Carlos V, so Carlo was shrouded in terror.

At this moment, Carlo's only friend in the court, Rodrigo, Marquis of Posa, appeared. He told Carlo that he must forget his love for the French princess Elizabeth and bravely stand up and save the suffering people in Flanders. Spain, which still believed in the old religion at that time, ruled Flanders and wanted to completely suppress Protestants. Rodrigo, who is fond of Protestants, hopes to realize his ideal through Carlo.

Carlo listened to Rodrigo and decided to start a new life. They became brothers, swore: "We must live and die together, * * *" and then left.

Scene 2 Front yard of St. yust Abbey

At this time, the female officials in the palace gathered here. April, the beautiful princess of Palma, sang the veil song "In the Beautiful Garden of Chalasin Palace", and everyone listened attentively to her singing.

In April, the beautiful Princess Palma sang the veil song "In the beautiful garden of Chalasin Palace".

At this time, the queen appeared quietly, and the female officials in the hilarity immediately quieted down. The Marquis of Posa came to ask for an audience. He said that there was a letter from the French royal family, which was secretly accompanied by Carlo's letter. Facing the uneasy queen, Posa quietly began to sing the romantic "Our Beloved Carlo".

When the queen is suffering from the memories of the past, Princess April, who secretly loves the prince next to her, mistakenly thinks that Carol is suffering from her love. At the suggestion of Marquis Bosha, the prostitutes left the princess, and Marquis disappeared behind the forest with April. Then Carol appeared.

Carol asked the queen to try to plead with the king and allow him to go to Flanders. During the conversation, Carlo couldn't restrain his passionate love for her and finally hugged her impulsively. Elizabeth, who suddenly woke up from the chaos, shouted excitedly, "Kill my father and lead my mother to the altar with her bloody hands." Carol was so ashamed at this moment that she muttered to herself in despair, "Oh, I'm cursed!" " "Then run away in pain. Looking at Carlo's back, Elizabeth, who loves him deeply, couldn't help crying and fainted.

Just then, the king suddenly appeared, saw the queen alone here, and asked Countess Arenberg, the female official, "Why don't you follow the queen?" Then he ordered her to return to France tomorrow morning. The countess wept bitterly, and the queen comforted her with concern, so she sang the romantic song "Please don't cry, my good friend".

After everyone left, the king stopped the Marquis de Posa. At this time, although the marquis was nervous inside, he pretended to be calm outside. When the king asked him why he didn't come to serve, he replied, "I have been troubled by the terrible life of the local people since I came back from Flanders." When the king said that "peace must be obtained with blood", he expressed his fierce opinions and sang: "This is only the peace of the grave, and history may call the king Nero II".

The king was surprised and warned him, "Your idea is very dangerous. Be careful of the inquisitor." . However, the king still trusted him. He said that he suspected that the queen was having an affair with the prince and asked him to pay more attention to the queen's actions. Marquis de Posa wisely promised to do as the king ordered.

Act ii scene 1 in the queen's garden of the palace.

When Carol received the date note, she mistakenly thought it was written by Elizabeth. At this moment, Princess April appeared wearing a veil. Carol mistook her for Elizabeth and immediately poured out her love. When she took off her veil, Carol knew that she had made a mistake, and he was confused. Looking at the uneasy Carlo, April told him, "Marquis de Posa and his father are talking about you."

Carol apologized to April for taking the liberty just now, and then April realized that he loved the queen, so she was jealous. At this point, although Rodrigo tried to defuse the tension, april, who had already understood the truth, was only more angry. When Rodrigo waved a dagger, Carlo stopped him, so he entered a trio full of gunpowder, "Be careful, you fake son".

After april left angrily, Rodrigo told Carlo that he hoped Carlo would give him the secret documents he had. Carol hesitated at first, but in the end she did it.

Scene 2: The Grand Square in front of Nostradamus Donna Dartega Church.

It was heresy execution day, and the crowd gathered to praise the king. Then came the gloomy March, when a group of monks dressed in black appeared and dragged the prisoners who were about to be executed across the stage.

The door of the church opened and the king appeared, announcing the execution of heresy. At this time, Carlo appeared suddenly with the envoy of Flanders, dressed in mourning, and begged the king to extend a kind hand to the suffering Flanders people. But the king called them rebels and angrily accused the prince who took the lead. Carol drew her sword. Vowed to save Flanders.

The envoys of Carlo and Flanders suddenly appeared and begged the king to extend a kind hand to the suffering Flanders people.

Carlo's rude behavior of drawing his sword in front of the king angered the king. The king ordered the prince to hand over his sword, but the prince refused to listen. At this moment, Marquis Bosha came up to the king and asked Carlo to hand over his sword. Carol paused and said, "Is that you?" After that, do it. On the spot, the king conferred the title of Duke on Marquis Bosha, and Carlo was puzzled by the evolution of the matter.

The fire on the stake was lit, and the sky turned white in the distance. People came to see the stake. At this time, the voice of redemption came from the sky.

In the main square in front of Nostradamus Donna Dartega Church.

Act III Scene 1 Room 1 Madrid Palace

The king felt that the young princess had never loved him. Coupled with this betrayal, he deeply lamented his aging and loneliness and sang the aria "She never loved me". Then, the 90-year-old blind prosecutor appeared.

The king wanted to discuss with him what to do with the prince, and he replied, "it is not a problem to sentence him to death." The presiding judge also said that the real heretic was the Marquis of Bosha, who wanted his life. The king said: an honest man's life cannot be handed over. As a result, the prosecutor was angered and he returned to the monastery angrily.

At this time, Queen Elizabeth came running in a panic, saying that her room had been turned upside down and the jewelry box had been stolen, and asked the king to send someone to catch the thief. The king said calmly, "This is a jewel box." "Open the door for her. Then the king found a portrait of Carlo in it, and he doubted the queen's chastity. Although the queen argued that she was innocent, the king didn't believe it at all. The angry queen fainted at the king's words. Hearing the king's cry for help, Rodrigo and April came at once. After two people's care, the queen gradually regained consciousness. She lamented her fate, and the king left first with Rodrigo.

April couldn't stand the condemnation of conscience and finally confessed to the queen.

At this time, April could not bear the condemnation of her conscience, and finally confessed to the Queen that she had always loved Carol deeply and stole her jewelry box out of jealousy. She exposed another sin, that is, she had an incestuous physical relationship with the king. The queen said quietly, "I want to leave this country and go to a monastery." Then leave.

April felt that her jealousy and beauty led to such a tragic fate, so she sang the aria "Cursed Beauty".

Scene 2: Don Carroll's Prison

Carlo was meditating in prison, and Rodrigo came to see him. He told the prince that he had written a letter and decided to send it to the king. In this letter, it is explained that Carol didn't commit a crime at all. In order to save the prince, she played the villain herself. He entrusted the prince with the important task of saving the Flemish people, determined to make amends with death, and sang the aria "My Last Day". At this moment, the gun rang and Rodrigo fell in a pool of blood. Before taking his last breath, he said goodbye to Carlo. He said that all his future plans have been told to the Queen, who will wait for him at St. geist Abbey tomorrow evening. He wanted the prince to be the savior of Spain, and then he gave up his dream.

Then the king appeared. He returned the sword to the prince and forgave him. Unexpectedly, the people who expected the prince to save them turned into thugs and poured into the prison. The king told them that the prince was here. At this time, the presiding judge of the great religion came, and he sternly ordered people to bow down to the king who guarded God. Everyone must obey and sing praises to the king in chorus.

Act IV St. yust Abbey

Elizabeth, who was waiting for Carol, remembered the past of Fontainebleau. Now that she has realized her destiny, she must tell Carlo Rodrigo her last words, start a new life for him, and guard her by his side, so she sang the aria "Know the God of the Empty World".

When Carlo appeared, Elizabeth begged him to purify their feelings and transfer his love and enthusiasm to the task of saving the suffering people in Flanders. Carol promised to hide her love in her heart and was determined to dedicate her life to the people of Flanders. The two met in the sky and said goodbye to each other after singing Goodbye forever.

Queen Elizabeth and Don. Carlo meets at St. yust Abbey.

At this time, the king and the grand prosecutor appeared together and ordered the guards to arrest them. But at this moment, the tomb of Carlos V was mysteriously opened, and the ghost of Carlos V appeared, taking Carlo into the curtain room. Elizabeth fainted on the spot and the whole play collapsed in panic.