Joining in the celebrations of the Year of Verdi (2013), The Wielki Theater/ National Opera in Warsa wis staging the premiere a new production of the great Italian composer's opera "Don Carlos".

The Warsaw production is directed by Willy Decker, an acclaimed opera director whom Polish audiences remember for a superb production of Richard Strauss' "Elektra". The sets for "Don Carlos" were designed by Wolfgang Gussmann and the orchestra will be conducted by Carlo Montanaro, the music director of the National Opera. The new version is coproducted by De Nederlandse Opera in Amsterdam. Written by Joseph Méry and Camille da Locle , the libretto to "Don Carlos" is based on a play by Friedrich Schiller. The plot is set in 160th-century Spain and focuses on King Philip II's son, the titular Don Carlos, who in the Warsaw production is played by Giancarlo Monsalve. The opera exposes the dark side of the history of Spain and of King Philip II, who is collaborating with the Holly Inquisition. Themes prominently featured in the Verdi opera include the love of Carlo's stepmother Elizabeth (Nataliya Kovalova) for Don Carlos, the frendship between Carlos and Rodrigo, the Marquis of Posa (Da