Giuseppe Verdi’s (1813-1901) grand and full-length opera “Don Carlos” is based on Friedrich Schiller’s drama “Don Karlos, Infant of Spain”. The French original of 1867 was first performed in Paris, belongs to the genre of the Grand Opéra, was Verdi’s third commissioned work for the Paris Opera and has five acts; a second, shorter version was not performed until 17 years later at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan. Unlike the first version, this one contains four acts and has an Italian libretto instead of a French one. This also explains the two different spellings of the work: "Don Carlos" / "Don Carlo".
It is now known that seven different versions of the opera exist. After massive criticism, the composer was repeatedly forced to make changes and cuts to his work, as the first version, with almost five hours of playing time, was too lengthy even for the Parisian audience - an educated and music-loving audience that was quite used to the lengthy duration of the large-scale and epic Grand Opéra. After the second version had been favoured until the end of the 20th century, theatres today tend to favour the first, longer version, since in it the plots and motivations of the characters can be presented much better and more coherently.

W. A. Mozart (1756-1791) created a piece of music history with this unique stage work, which since its premiere in September 1791 has become one of the most popular and most performed operas worldwide.
When the theater and bon vivant Emanuel Schickaneder approached the financially and psychologically troubled composer in 1790 and presented him with a fairy-tale libretto, Mozart was immediately taken with it and added the masonic ideals and rites that were fashionable at the time. These gave the “Magic Flute” a completely different meaning and transformed the piece from a colorful magic pose into an almost testamentary appeal to humanity - entirely in the style of the spirit of the Viennese Classicism. Musically, this great German opera or Singspiel unites different styles such as opera seria, opera buffa and tragédie lyrique. Mozart’s genius united the French romance, the Italian aria and the German Lied to a fascinating kaleidoscope that inspires young and old alike. Popular arias from the "Magic Flute" such as “The Birdcatcher I am”, “Hell’s Revenge is boiling in my Heart”, or “This Portrait is Enchantingly Beautiful” are easily accessible to everyone. Goethe attested that this music alone would have provided a worthy accompaniment to his Faust.