When people ask me which opera I would take with me to a desert island if I could only take one (I’ve really been asked that), I always say it would be Don Carlos, by Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) — but all seven versions.
Program booklet for Don Carlos in Strasbourg
On a visit to Strasbourg in 2006 I saw the five-act French version, with the American tenor Andrew Richards in the title role. I have also seen a five-act Italian version in Frankfurt and Wiesbaden, a four-act Italian version in Braunschweig, Geneva, Dresden and Milan, and a German translation (or re-translation) in Dessau.
The opera Don Carlos (or Don Carlo in Italian) is based on a classic German play by Friedrich Schiller (1759-1805). Don Carlos is a Spanish prince who falls in love with a French princess, but for reasons of state she is forced to marry someone else — Don Carlo’s own father, the King of Spain.
In the five-act versions, the first act takes place in the Forest of Fontainebleau, France, where the prince and princess meet and fall in love, but their happiness lasts only a few minutes. A cannon sounds to announce the signing of a peace treaty between the two countries, and the rejoicing multitudes bring the news that Elisabeth is to marry the King of Spain, Philip II. The two love-struck teenagers, Carlos and Elisabeth, are devastated by this news, since it means they will be living under the same roof at the Spanish Royal Palace, not as man and wife but as step-son and step-mother.
Théâtre Municipal in Strasbourg
The Théâtre Municipal in Strasbourg was first built in 1821. It was destroyed by bombs in 1870 during the Franco-Prussian War, but was reconstructed two years later, following the original plans. The National Opera of the Rhine performs here, and also in the nearby cities of Mulhouse and Colmar.
Place Broglie with the opera house at the far end
The performance I saw here was fine musically, but I’m afraid the staging didn’t work at all. I should have guessed that something was wrong because of the strange wording on their website: “Based on an original concept by Christoph Loy.” Since Loy is one of my favorite German stage directors, I had high hopes for the production, but apparently he had walked out on the first day of rehearsals (not at all typical for him), and somebody else had to take it over. (I still haven’t heard the whole story of this.)
In the opera house in Strasbourg
Although the theater has been renovated and modernized several times, it basically retains its original 19th century style. The 1143 red plush seats have been reupholstered in recent years, but are still small and very close together. Evidently people really were smaller in the 19th century than they are today.
Looking up in the opera house
Tickets are expensive. I paid € 46.80 for a seat in the second gallery with only a partial view of the stage.
Coat hooks on the level of the 2nd gallery
An unusual thing about this theater is that it has no cloakrooms, but at all levels there are numerous numbered coat hooks, one for each seat. I took this photo on the level of the second gallery.
A sculpture just under the ceiling
Location, aerial view and photo on monumentum.fr.
My photos in this post are from 2006. I revised the text in 2018.
See more posts on Operas in France (outside of Paris).
The opera house itself is impressive!
I’ve not seen this opera, I must investigate further. Lovely opera house.
Yes, do try to see Don Carlo(s) if you get the chance. The next-to-last act, especially, (act 4 or 3, depending on the version) is an amazing series of masterpieces one after the other.
Hi Don, I walked past this Opera House when Jill @ I had 5 nights in Strasbourg back in 2012. You may recall you provided me with the train timetable etc from Amsterdam to Strasbourg and also how to walk from Paris Est to Paris Nord to catch the train to Strasbourg ( i might have the train stations in reverse). Your train info & walking directions were perfect.
Hi Mike, glad my directions were of some use back then. And yes, you do have the train stations in reverse. Trains from Paris Nord go to Amsterdam, and from Paris Est to Strasbourg (and Frankfurt).