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Opera Online, 23 of March, 2019 |
By Sam Smith |
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Verdi: La forza del destino, London, ab 21. März 2019 |
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Outstanding Cast Delivers in La forza del destino at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
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Set in eighteenth century Spain, Verdi’s La forza del destino sees the
Marquis of Calatrava oppose his daughter Leonora’s South American lover Don
Alvaro, believing he is not good enough for her. When, however, Don Alvaro
surrenders himself to prove that he never violated her, he throws down his
pistol and accidentally kills the Marquis when it goes off. Leonora’s
brother Don Carlo sets out to avenge his father’s death but he and Don
Alvaro end up fighting side by side in battle in Italy, and even saving each
others’ lives. When each subsequently discovers who the other is, however,
tragedy ensues and both Don Carlo and Leonora end up dead.
The
opera, which is based on Ángel de Saavedra’s Don Álvaro o la fuerza del sino
of 1835 and has a libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, originally premiered in
St Petersburg in 1862. However, the version that is almost always performed
today, with an Overture that has been used in everything from the film Jean
de Florette to Stella Artois adverts, began life in Milan in 1869. Destiny
is obviously a key component of the piece, but even this concept takes on a
series of guises. After Don Alvaro kills the Marquis, Don Carlo disguises
himself to hunt Alvaro down, with his unremitting approach to his task
making him believe that Alvaro is destined to die at his hands. The way in
which Carlo and Alvaro’s lives subsequently become intertwined also make
things seem preordained. However, the fact there are numerous occasions when
we feel that events could have turned out differently suggest, on the one
hand, that things did not have to be like this, and that, on the other, they
were destined to since, of all of the outcomes that were possible, this is
the one that transpired. Right to the end, Alvaro seeks some form of
reconciliation with Carlo, but Carlo is too determined to fulfil his destiny
and dispatch Alvaro. However, since it is he and Leonora who end up dead, it
seems that Alvaro, no matter how inadvertently or unwillingly, was destined
to destroy the Calatrava family.
The way in which destiny hangs over
the House of Calatrava is emphasised in Christof Loy’s production, which is
new to the Royal Opera having premiered for Dutch National Opera in 2017, by
setting all of it, via Christian Schmidt’s sets, ‘inside’ the Calatrava
house. The Overture reveals Leonora and Don Carlo as children growing up in
a well-to-do but stifling environment. Sir Antonio Pappano’s conducting is
strong all evening, but particularly so during the Overture, in which he
ensures that the tempi, colours and textures constantly alter in line with
the multi-faceted nature of the music. In this way, the actions that
accompany the score work seamlessly with it as the young Carlo wrestles
Leonora to the ground at a slightly frenetic point, before the mood changes
and the Marquis of Calatrava enters adopting a slow and authoritative pace.
In Act I Leonora and Alvaro attempt unsuccessfully to escape the house
through a window, but Act II, which in reality takes place at a monastery,
sees the same house remain, only one of the walls has now been replaced by a
chancel. This suggests that if there is a way of escaping fate it is through
the church, but that it is hardly a certain route. Act III takes place away
at war in Italy, but while the stage appears to present an outdoor area,
even here the floor is that of the original Calatrava house. Then the very
final scene, which takes place near Leonora’s hermitage, has restored this
house to its original state, with all of the walls having returned.
If the overarching premise of the production, however, is sound, it falls
down a little around some of its details. During the initial killing of the
Marquis huge images of the protagonists in the event are projected onto the
walls of the house, which makes it feel like a cinematographic moment of
heightened drama. This is appropriate because it ties in with, and enhances,
how the music itself relates the event, while also magnifying the moment
from which practically everything else in the opera spawns. However,
bringing these images back at other points in the opera feels like overkill,
while Act III seems to introduce every directorial cliché by seeing the
stage filled with prostitutes and chairs. The dancing and revelries at the
end of Act III are certainly lively but, while it is hard to criticise the
accomplishment (choreographer Otto Pichler has drilled the entire cast
extremely well), the section feels incongruent with what has preceded it,
even allowing for the fact that its whole point is to provide variation and
some light relief.
This is very much the dream cast for this opera
(performers vary for some roles over the run), and all of the principals
sing at the height of their game. Anna Netrebko is outstanding as Leonora
with her soprano revealing strength, depth and an excellent degree of shape
that make her performance of ‘Pace, pace mio Dio!’ particularly moving.
Jonas Kaufmann is also on top form as Don Alvaro with his brilliant,
expansive tenor shining in all its glory, as he also brings a notable
lightness to certain lines. The standard he sets, however, is met by Ludovic
Tézier as Don Carlo, whose baritone feels sublime in its richness and
accomplishment, and the pair’s scenes together are particularly thrilling
because their voices are so well matched. Ferruccio Furlanetto, with his
deep, firm bass, is luxury casting as Padre Guardiano, Alessandro Corbelli
provides a master class in comic timing as Fra Melitone, while Veronica
Simeoni proves quite the dancer as the fortune teller Preziosilla. This
production, featuring the cast described here, will be broadcast live to
selected cinemas around the world on 2 April, with some venues also showing
encore screenings on subsequent days.
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