La Forza del Destino

by Giuseppe Verdi, libretto by Francesco Maria Piave

seen by live streaming from Covent Garden on 7 April 2019

(This was actually a repeat screening of the live event from 2 April)

Antonio Pappano conducted Anna Netrebko as Donna Leonora, Jonas Kaufmann as Don Alvaro and Ludovic Tézier as Don Carol di Vargas, with Robert Lloyd as the Marquis of Calatrava, Ferruccio Furlanetto as Padre Guardiano and Alessandro Corbelli as Fra Melitone in Cristof Loy's new production first seen in Amsterdam, with designs by Christian Schmidt.

This is a long and gloomy opera, in which the best intentions of the would-be lovers Donna Leonora and Don Alvaro go woefully astray, not helped by the vicious code of honour espoused by Donna Leonora's father, the Marquis of Calatrava, who curses her as he lies dying from an accidental gunshot wound, and her brother Don Carlo, almost psychopathic in his pursuit of vengeance, who is determined to kill both the lovers. The Force of Destiny ensnares them all, and the pious assurances of the Padre who has protected Donna Leonora as an anonymous hermit and Don Alvaro as a monk (unbeknownst to each other until the last moment) are, to say the least, of ambivalent consolation.

Everything depends on the quality of the major soloists and the skill of the conductor in marshalling the orchestral and vocal resources, and this cast and conductor are justly celebrated as a 'dream team'. The great introspective arias, the tempestuous quarrels and recriminations, and the brooding undercurrents of the score all receive superlative treatment here, masking and distracting us from the narrative improbabilities and the confusing proliferation of assumed names (Don Alvaro has two and the Calatrava siblings one each). Anna Netrebko shows us a young woman uncertain of her loyalties even when she is in love - family ties are extremely strong in the Calatrava household, even if they are also rather poisonous - and doubtful of her salvation even after years spent as  hermit. Jonas Kaufmann's Don Alvaro is passionate and conflicted, desperately hoping to retrieve some peace from the situation but still in thrall to aristocratic notions of honour when goaded by insults. Ludovic Tézier shows the selfish weakness of Don Carlo, so blinded by his need for vengeance that he can talk himself out of any finer feeling. The mental trap he and his sister are in is nicely illustrated by silent scenes of their childhoods enacted during the overture; the boy is a bully, the man all too clearly is the boy writ large.

The opera, which sprawls across many years and a number of locations, including battle scenes, is here unified visually by the inspired idea of setting it predominantly in an oppressive room in the Calatrava household. One wall slides away to reveal a huge crucifix to indicate a monastery; nothing but the huge doorframe is left in the battle scene, with a vast landscape projected onto a cyclorama behind it. The intensely personal confrontations are relieved by massive crowd scenes in which the chorus represent monks, soldiers, camp followers and beggars as required with accomplished singing and movement. Though the long scene at the ed of Act Three seriously breaks the overall tension of the piece, seeming quite extraneous to the overall story - it's very well performed.

The Covent Garden audience were in raptures as the three major soloists showed us their paces, and one can well understand why in this excellent production.