the play is quite consciously a father-son rivalry not just about a woman but about a man
So I’m only familiar with the opera, but I’m butting in on your and cahn’s delicious and learned discussion to say, that rivalry over not only Elisabeth but also Posa is something that I took away even in the opera, where Philip is suspiciously side-eyeing the emotionally-charged Carlo/Rodrigo dynamic at the end of the auto-da-fe scene. Definitely subtext in the opera, but I’m fascinated that the play makes it explicit!
I am also here for parallels with the Friedrich/Friedrich II/Katte situation, and Schiller and his contemporaries all furiously writing thinly-veiled Don Carlos remixes. That does definitely add a cutting edge of contemporary-ish politics to the play <3
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So I’m only familiar with the opera, but I’m butting in on your and cahn’s delicious and learned discussion to say, that rivalry over not only Elisabeth but also Posa is something that I took away even in the opera, where Philip is suspiciously side-eyeing the emotionally-charged Carlo/Rodrigo dynamic at the end of the auto-da-fe scene. Definitely subtext in the opera, but I’m fascinated that the play makes it explicit!
I am also here for parallels with the Friedrich/Friedrich II/Katte situation, and Schiller and his contemporaries all furiously writing thinly-veiled Don Carlos remixes. That does definitely add a cutting edge of contemporary-ish politics to the play <3