Verdi's 'Don Carlo' to Open 72nd Split Summer Festival

The 72nd Split Summer Festival will commence with Giuseppe Verdi's grand opera "Don Carlo," performed by leading Croatian singers on the historic Peristyle stage on July 14. The production, directed by Goran Golovko and conducted by Slovenia's Simon Krečič, is seen as a significant event for the festival.

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Opera Don Carlo is the biggest gain for the Split Summer Festival. We were participants in the planned and systematic devastation of the opera ensemble by the former authorities. This is a cry of the Opera to return to what it once represented.

Bass Ivica Čikeš, portraying King Philip II, described the production as a "cry of the Opera to return to what it once represented," referencing a perceived "planned and systematic devastation of the opera ensemble by the former authorities." He emphasized the opera's importance in reclaiming its past stature.

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The challenge, honor, and responsibility is to stage Don Carlos, and especially to stage it at the Peristyle. We started from its architecture and arrived at solutions that underline, not negate, the Peristyle. We treat all its layers of history, epochs, religions, and cultures as conditions that dictated how to aesthetically shape the performance.

Director Goran Golovko noted the challenge and honor of staging "Don Carlo" at the Peristyle, stating the production's design complements rather than overpowers the venue's architecture. The staging aims to reflect the site's layers of history, epochs, religions, and cultures. Golovko also highlighted the opera's themes of personal freedom, the right to love, and the right of smaller nations to self-determination.

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There is one rule in opera. If the orchestra hears the singers, then the acoustics are good. We tested the acoustics with a piano. Everything can be heard, all nuances can be expressed. We are the ones who must adapt to the space.

Conductor Simon Krečič expressed excitement about returning to Split and performing at the Peristyle, praising its acoustics. He stated that the orchestra and singers must adapt to the space. Tenor Tomislav Mužek, playing the titular Don Carlo, described his role as one of the most beloved characters, torn between love for a woman and political duty. He detailed the tragic conflict of Don Carlo, who loves the woman promised to his father, facing a life where she is his stepmother and unhappy in her marriage. Mužek noted that while Schiller's portrayal might not capture Carlo's potential intellectual disability, it accurately reflects his inner turmoil. Mezzo-soprano Martina Mikelić will perform as Eboli, marking her 20th career anniversary.

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Don Carlo is one of my favorite characters because rarely is a character so torn between love for a woman and politics. We are not doing the five-act version where Don Carlo accidentally meets Elisabetta in the forest, who is promised to his father. His world collapses because he will have to see the woman he loves most at court and address her as 'mother,' and she will languish in a loveless marriage with his father. Don Carlo is torn between love, father-son relationships, and politics.