Don Carlo NYC Reviews and Tickets

83%

(16 Reviews)

Positive

100%

Mixed

Negative

Members say

Great singing, Great staging, Absorbing, Slow, Entertaining

About the Show

The Met presents the 5-act Italian version of Verdi’s epic opera.

Doomed love among royalty is set against the backdrop of the Spanish Inquisition. Yannick Nézet-Séguin leads a world-beating cast of opera’s leading lights, including tenor Russell Thomas in the title role, sopranos Eleonora Buratto and Angela Meade as Élisabeth de Valois, and mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili as Eboli. With baritone Peter Mattei as Rodrigo, bass-baritone John Relyea as the Grand Inquisitor, and bass Günther Groissböck as King Philip II.

Verdi’s masterpiece opera receives a monumental new staging by David McVicar that marks his 11th Met production, placing him among the most prolific and popular directors in recent Met memory.

Member Reviews (16)

Ambitious, Slow, Great staging, Great acting, Great singing

See it if you must see all of Verdi's operas-this one has a good story, and you enjoy great singing by a large cast and chorus with monumental staging

Don't see it if you are impatient - it is a long opera with two 30 minute intermissions and it moves slowly with many lines sung multiple times.

Relevant, Great singing, Entertaining, Clever

See it if Another interesting production by the Met. I enjoyed it for the most part however between hours three and four tended to drag a bit.

Don't see it if You have difficulty sitting through almost 4 hours. Slow and repetitive at times but overall quite enjoyable.

Masterful, Great writing, Great singing, Great acting, Absorbing

See it if you love Verdi well done. Great singing and acting although I dislike the staging and the sets. The men were especially splendiod

Don't see it if you do not like grand opera

Slow, Great writing, Great staging, Great singing, Enchanting

See it if Huge cast in gorgeous costumes singing at a world class level. Fantastic music. Story is a skosh convoluted, but the playbill clarifies it.

Don't see it if It's long/a bit slow & slightly confusing, w/oddly placed intermissions. If you're not up for 4 hrs of(beautiful!)opera, go for a shorter 1.

Slow, Epic, Great staging, Great singing

See it if you want to see a very long opera at the Met, or want to see everything Verdi ever wrote, or want to see everything the Met performs

Don't see it if you don’t like opera, or don’t like long operas in particular, or only like long operas written by Wagner or Handel Read more

Great singing, Absorbing, Entertaining

See it if You are a Verdi fan. Music is very melodic and the singing is great!

Don't see it if You are not a fan of Opera. Read more

Great staging, Great singing, Great acting, Entertaining, Delightful

See it if Another magical night at the Met and Verdi. Rafael Davila in the title role was exemplary as were the rest of the cast .

Don't see it if Not interested in old school melodic operas

Enchanting, Clever, Absorbing

See it if one of the best opera

Don't see it if hate operas

Critic Reviews (5)

"This one was a dramatic fizzle; the big hits were present and accounted for, and largely well sung, but the evening was, strangely, a drag. Cuts aren’t supposed to make operas feel longer."
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For a previous production

"Polenzani is not the swaggering, trumpeting Franco Corelli-style tenor generally associated with the part — though he rises, stylishly, to fiery intensity — but rather a vocalist of refinement, inwardness and melancholy...The only weak link is the bass-baritone Eric Owens as King Philippe, his voice dry and colorless, his face and presence inexpressive...I wish McVicar and Nézet-Séguin had restored the first act’s opening section, performed at the Met from 1979 to 2006, which shows Élisabeth among the suffering people of France. It deepens the conflict she faces not long after...At least that crucial first act is here."
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For a previous production

"David McVicar’s new production amps up the gloom...What saves this five-hour night at the opera from being an unadulterated bummer is the music-making, which transforms suffering into pleasure. Verdi wrote a high-thread-count score; the sheer abundance of luxuriant tunes makes it one of the richest works in any company’s repertoire. It also contains genuine characters and relationships."
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For a previous production

"Provided justification as much for the presentation of 'Don Carlos' as it did for itself as an institution...The result is a familiar gem that feels utterly new with its context restored, and Verdi’s multidimensional score breathes and seethes with style and grandeur...Much of the credit for that is owed to the conductor and the Met’s music director, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, who coaxed thrilling, cohesive playing and rich colorings from the Met Orchestra from start to finish."
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For a previous production

"Restored to full form, with most of the many cuts made in the opera’s early stage to make it more portable and palatable, 'Don Carlos' attains a grandest-of-grand level of spectacle and force almost immediately, and scarcely ever lets up...Strangely, the chemistry between the lovers was far less crackling than in the opera’s other love story...Mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton was a revelation in an eyepatch as Eboli, magnificently steeped in the princess’s desperation and inspiring chills when her longing curdles into rage. One of the most commanding performances I’ve seen in years, and a star turn to be sure."
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Trailer

Creative team

The Metropolitan Opera House