Chicago Tribune - Recommended
"...At the other end of the spectrum, Lyric’s “Don Carlos” is also a gleaming showcase for those regulars of regulars, the Lyric Opera orchestra and chorus. The chorus — prepared, as usual, by Michael Black — sounded especially arresting in this repertoire, never more so than in the Act II treble chorus and the heart-hammering auto-da-fe."
Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended
"...The opera’s tumultuous drama unspools from the forced marriage of Elisabeth, the daughter of the French king (soprano Rachel Willis-Sørenson), to Philippe II, the Spanish king (bass Dmitri Belosselskiy), as way to bring peace between the two countries. The problem is that Elisabeth was the intended bride of Philippe’s son, Don Carlos (tenor Joshua Guerrero), and the two fall in love at the beginning of the opera right before this unfortunate arrangement is revealed."
Chicago On the Aisle - Highly Recommended
"...“Don Carlos” is best approached like a five-act Shakespeare play; if it seems overwhelmingly rich, you take in all you can absorb, and you go back to it over time. If there was not much variety in the visual settings here, the music itself was impressive. The strong cast had several standouts, among them the French mezzo-soprano Clémentine Margaine as jealous Eboli, a rival for Don Carlos’ love. Her entrance aria, the “Chanson du Voile” about a young woman’s flirtation with a king, seemed a little tentative on opening night, but her delivery of Eboli’s “O don fatal” was truly exceptional for its rage and self-loathing, with the pyrotechnics of a thunderstorm."
Stage and Cinema - Recommended
"...If the season's earlier production of Verdi's Ernani seemed stale, Don Carlos is undoubtedly fresh, helmed by a wonderfully dynamic and talented cast. Grand in every way, Verdi's Don Carlos is not for the faint of heart or the casual opera goer, but it is an incredibly impressive achievement. The performance is long and excessive in almost every way, but there is moment after moment of sublime beauty. Take it in if you dare and prepare to be overwhelmed. Next up is Rossini's uproarious romp Le Comte Ory."
Around The Town Chicago - Recommended
"...But with those reservations stated, Don Carlos is magnificent music, and the skilled conducting of Enrique Mazzola and the singers in the cast do it justice. Personally, I find the mess of the never-fully-settled-upon script to be a glorious one that produces a lot of good character dynamics and interesting ideas amid music that never fails at conveying an emotion, even if not all the other elements are as strong. Clementine Margaine, as the long-suffering Princess Eboli, deserves particular acclaim for her alluring stage presence. Someday, somebody might write a dramatization based on a more authentic version of the story of Felipe II and Prince Carlos. (Contrary to what the opera implies, they barely had an eighteen-year age gap.) But the historical oddities of Verdi's script are themselves fascinating, and productions of the French version are still rare enough for this to be an exciting opportunity."
Third Coast Review - Highly Recommended
"...The Lyric Opera in Chicago is at the forefront of opera productions on the world stage. It’s right up there with La Scala in Milan or the Met in New York. In fact, the Met just ran a truncated production in four acts of Don Carlos in Italian, which was a later iteration of the work, but still in five acts. The Lyric presented a lush and beautiful five acts that lived up to their status as a great opera house."
Picture This Post - Recommended
"...Opera die-hards will likely not be able to find even a scintilla of flaw in this production. Newbies to the opera genre — who usually benefit from the magic of costumes and stagecraft, and often with choreography that helps engage as it moves a typically improbable opera storyline forward — should likely take a pass. This is a long opera that requires stamina and a good night’s sleep ahead of time."
Splash Magazine - Not Recommended
"...It is Verdi’s longest and least-performed opera. If you go, you will see why. I’m saying upfront that this opera is really only for Verdi stans and people like me who want to see every opera ever written at least once. Once is plenty for this one. It is four hours of my life I won’t be getting back."
