Editing Don Carlos (section)

====As ''Don Carlo'' in an Italian translation====
[[File:Don Carlo poster.jpg|thumb|Title page of a libretto for performances at the [[Teatro Pagliano]] in Florence in April–May 1869 which used the Italian translation by Achille de Lauzières]]

It was common practice at the time for most theatres (other than those in French-speaking communities) to perform operas in Italian,<ref>Budden 1981, p. 156.</ref> and an Italian translation of ''Don Carlos'' was prepared in the autumn of 1866 by [[Achille de Lauzières]].<ref>Budden 1981, p. 26; for the Italian translation by Achille de Lauzières, see {{OCLC|21815071}} (vocal score); {{OCLC|777337258}} (libretto).</ref> On 18 November 1866 Verdi wrote to [[Giovanni Ricordi]], offering the Milan publisher the Italian rights, but insisting that the opera:
:must be performed in its entirety as it will be performed for the first time at the Paris Opéra. ''Don Carlos'' is an opera in five acts with ballet: if nevertheless the management of Italian theatres would like to pair it with a different ballet, this must be placed either before or after the uncut opera, never in the middle, following the barbarous custom of our day.<ref>Quoted and translated in Budden 1981, p. 27.</ref>

However, the Italian translation was first performed not in Italy but in London at the [[Royal Opera House]], Covent Garden on 4 June 1867, where it was produced and conducted by [[Michael Costa (conductor)|Michael Costa]]. However, it was not as Verdi desired; the opera was given in a cut and altered form, with the first act being removed, the ballet in Act 3 being omitted, and Carlo's aria ''Io la vidi'' (originally in Act 1) being moved to Act 3, just before the terzetto. Additionally, the duet between Philip and the Inquisitor was shortened by four lines, and Elisabeth's aria in Act 5 consisted only of part of the middle section and the reprise. The production was initially considered a success, and Verdi sent a congratulatory note to Costa. Later when he learned of the alterations, Verdi was greatly irritated, but Costa's version anticipated revisions Verdi himself would make a few years later in 1882–83.<ref>Budden 1981, p. 27.</ref>

The Italian premiere on 27 October 1867 at the [[Teatro Comunale di Bologna]], conducted by Verdi's close friend [[Angelo Mariani (conductor)|Angelo Mariani]], was an "instant success", and this version, although produced in Verdi's absence, was more complete and included the ballet.<ref name="BUDD">Budden 1981, p. 28.</ref> For the Rome premiere on 9 February 1868 at the [[Teatro Apollo]], perhaps unsurprisingly, the Papal censor changed the Inquisitor into a Gran Cancelliere (Grand Chancellor) and the Monk/Emperor into a Solitario (Recluse).

This version of the opera was first performed in Milan at [[La Scala]] on 25 March 1868, and prestige productions in most other Italian opera houses followed, but it did not become a popular success. The length was a particular problem, and subsequent performances were generally heavily cut. The first production in Naples in 1871 was indisputably a failure.<ref name="BUDD"/><ref>Walker 1962, p. 326.</ref>