Don Carlos (play)

Updated on Nov 27, 2023

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Written by Friedrich von Schiller Genre drama Playwright Friedrich Schiller		Original language German Originally published 1787

Characters Carlos, Prince of Asturias Philip II of Spain Duke of Alba Elisabeth of Valois Princess of Eboli Marquis of Posa Subject conflict between Don Carlos and his father, King Philip II Setting Spanish Court at Aranjuez Similar Friedrich Schiller plays, Tragedies, Other plays

Don carlos friedrich schiller

Don Carlos (German: Don Karlos, Infant von Spanien) is a (historical) tragedy in five acts by Friedrich Schiller; it was written between 1783 and 1787 and first produced in Hamburg in 1787. The title character is Carlos, Prince of Asturias and the play as a whole is loosely modeled on historical events in the 16th century under the reign of King Philip II of Spain.

2015 sarasota opera production of verdi s don carlos

Opera adaptations

Several operas have been composed on the basis of the play:

1844 opera by Michael Costa (libretto Leopold Tarentini, London)

1847 opera by Pasquale Bona (libretto Giorgio Giacchetti, Milan)

1850 opera by Antonio Buzzolla (libretto Francesco Maria Piave, Venice) (this version was entitled "Elisabetta di Valois")

1862 opera by Vincenzo Moscuzza (libretto Leopold Tarentini, Naples)

1867 & 1884 Don Carlos and Don Carlo by Giuseppe Verdi (libretto Joseph Méry & Camille du Locle, Paris, Italian translation by Achille de Lauzières and Angelo Zanardini, Milan; German translation by Julius Kapp and Kurt Soldan)

English translations and stage adaptations

Don Carlos, Prince Royal of Spain: An Historical Drama from the German of Frederick Schiller (PDF). London: W. Miller. 1798.

Boylan, R. D. (2007). Don Carlos. DoDo Press. ISBN 978-1-4065-3895-3. Reprint of an 1872 translation.

Sy-Quia, Hilary Collier; Oswald, Peter (2008). Don Carlos and Mary Stuart. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-954074-7. Reprint of a 1996 translation (out-of-print).

Poulton, Mike (2005). Don Carlos. Nick Hern Books. ISBN 978-1-85459-857-8. Poulton's adaptation was directed by Michael Grandage in a well-reviewed staging.

MacDonald, Robert David (2006). Schiller: Volume Two: Don Carlos, Mary Stuart. Oberon Books. ISBN 978-1-84002-619-1. MacDonald's adaptation was first staged in Edinburgh in 1995. It is a verse translation in iambic pentameter; Mary Carole McCauley wrote, "MacDonald creates a sense of ease within his 10-syllable metric lines by using modern idioms, and what the translation lacks in a certain lush richness, it may make up for in accessibility."

Influence on English-language literature and film

Jeffrey High has found influences of Schiller's plays on the screenplays for several Hollywood films, and in particular suggests a close correspondence between Don Carlos and the screenplay for Star Wars (1977).

References

Don Carlos (play) Wikipedia

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