The first time I saw Verdi's Don Carlos, I was totally fascinated by the characters- most of whom really existed. 

We didn't cover European history with much depth in high school, so I spent about six hours reading about each one of the historical characters on Wikipedia after I got home from the opera. 

Now that Don Carlos is going to be broadcast to movie theaters again (See details at Fathom Events), I was inspired to make a cheat sheet of historical tidbits about the characters. 

You can download it to read up on these individuals before heading to the opera OR print it out to explore during intermission!

Yes this opera is one of the longer ones, but it has a lot going on, plus wonderful music by Verdi. Consider it a special miniseries cross between the History Channel and Lifetime movies!

"See" you there!

Click to Download

Click to check out the Don Carlos Bracelet!