King Felipe and Queen Letizia enjoyed the inaugural performance of the 23rd season of the Royal Theatre this week, taking in the opera “Don Carlos” by Giuseppe Verdi.
According to the royal house, the King and Queen were accompanied by the president of the Congress of Deputies, Meritxell Batet; the president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso; Acting Ministers of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, Josep Borrel; Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska; of Culture and Sports, José Guirao; and of Economy and Business, Nadia Calviño; the mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida; the president of the Royal Theatre Foundation, Gregorio Marañón; and the general director of the Royal Theatre, Ignacio García-Belenguer.
The royal couple greeted ambassadors and members of the Board of Trustees of the Royal Theatre before the show and at the end of the performance, they had the chance to speak with the performers, artistic directors, and members of the choir, orchestra, and technical team. The King and Queen posed for a group photo with the cast after congratulating them on their performance.
The opera is based on the life of Carlos, Prince of Asturias, who was the mentally unstable son and heir-apparent of King Philip II of Spain in the 1500s.
The 2019-2020 season of the Royal Theatre kicked off with the performance of “Don Carlos” and will continue with some other well-known shows such as “L’elisir d’amore”, “The Magic Flute”, “La Traviata” and “The Valkyrie.” However, some performances never seen at the Royal Theatre will also hit the stage, such as “Il Pirata” by Bellini, “Lear” by Reimann, and “Iris” by Mascagni, in concert with Ermonela Jaho, and the special premiere in Spain of “The Passenger” by Weinberg.
In addition, the Royal Theatre will welcome three leading dance companies of Europe to perform on their stage: the English National Ballet, the Spanish National Ballet, and the Nederlands Dans Theater. Celebrated voices from around the globe also will come to Spain, including the likes of Plácido Domingo, Anna Netrebko, Joyce DiDonato, Philippe Jaroussky, and Javier Camarena.
