Don Carlo

The crown prince Carlos of Spain was to have wed the French Princess Elisabeth, but their engagement was never proclaimed even if it was love at first sight. To seal the peace between their two respective countries, his father, the king, intervened at the very last moment and took her as his own bride. Elisabeth sacrificed her own happiness.    

Don Carlos is wondering in the monastery’s cloister, deeply sad and he is evoking his tragic love for prin- cess Elisabeth (now queen and his stepmother) when Rodrigo enters. Rodrigo is marquis of Posa and a loyal friend of Don Carlos. He tries to help the prince to leave the court and move to Flanders to become king and forget his unlucky existence. He will be at his side in friendship and loyalty fighting together to defend freedom and justice against terror and oppression opposed by king Philip II’s policy.    

Just then the king and queen arrive to pay homage to the memorial of emperor King Charles V. Don Carlos and Rodrigo leave the cloister.  Princess Eboli is entertaining the other court ladies while waiting for the queen to arrive. Rodrigo seeks an audience with the queen and Eboli. He slips the queen a letter from Carlos and extends an invitation to meet with the prince. She accepts although she knows the king will not approve. She rendezvouses with Carlos, who asks her to speak to the king about letting him leave for Flanders. Carlos soon surrenders to his emotions and admits that he still desperately loves her. She also still loves him but feels she must do her duty. She must remain by the King’s side since peace and the life of many subjects depends on her marriage.    

The king finding the queen unattended punishes her lady in waiting by sending her into exile. When everyone has left the king asks Rodrigo to remain and then asks him to pledge his loyalty. Rodrigo however voices his frank opinion on the occupation of Flanders. The king is astounded but also impressed with Rodrigo for daring to speak out against him. The king seeks Rodrigo’s assistance and con- veys his suspicion that the queen may have committed adultery with Carlos. Rodrigo agrees to spy on the queen and Carlos to win the king's confidence since this might help further his cause of liberating Flanders. 

Carlos has received a secret love letter with an invitation to rendezvous in the park that night. He believes the letter comes from the queen, but when he turns up, he discovers that the sender was in fact Eboli. She realises that his true feelings are for the queen. Rodrigo appears and tries to pressure Eboli into not revealing her secret, but she feels so hurt that she threatens to use her knowledge against Carlos. When she has left, Rodrigo asks Carlos to give him his documents due to the danger they pose. Carlos doesn’t really know if he can trust Rodrigo, who has now become the king's confidante but agrees to give Rodrigo the documents.    

The Royal Court celebrates its recent military victories against the heretics. The king is hailed by the generals and government. But Carlos has become desperate from his lack of power and lets in a group of Flemish freedom fighters who interrupted the celebrations and convey their sufferings. The king demands their arrest, but Carlos threatens the king directly. Not before Rodrigo has Carlos been arrested out of fear that he might upset his plans the celebration can continue. 

The king is woeful of his failure to force the queen into reciprocating his feelings despite his wealth and regal power. The head of the church, the grand inquisitor seeks audience with the king and demands that Carlos is to be severely punished. His primary concern, however, is that the king has embraced the freethinker Rodrigo.    

The king accuses the queen of adultery. Rodrigo and Eboli are shocked at the king’s conduct. Eboli admits to the queen that she has had an affair with the king, and that she indeed is the one who accused the queen of committing adultery with Carlos. The queen banishes her to a convent. Eboli, however, decides first to save Carlos. Rodrigo senses that the revenge of the grand inquisitor is nearby. He pays Carlos a visit in prison and encourages him to continue his struggle for Flanders. Rodrigo is struck by a bullet while in the company of Carlos and dies. A crowd of people led by Eboli makes an assault on the prison, the grand inquisitor crushes the rebellion, but Eboli succeeds in helping Carlos flee from the prison. 

The queen awaits the arrival of Carlos to bid him farewell for the very last time. Carlos wants to flee the country and travel to Flanders to lead an uprising against his own father, the king. They part but Carlos is intercepted by the king and the grand inquisitor who prevent him from escaping and apprehend him yet again …