La forza del destino

Wherever she appears, she elicits tumultuous applause – the soprano Anja Harteros, who can be heard as Leonora in our revival production of Andreas Homoki’s La forza del destino. As at the première, George Petean and Yonghoon Lee will be at her side singing the demanding roles of Don Carlo and Don Alvaro. General Music Director Fabio Luisi will once again interpret Verdi’s ardently powerful score.

In this musical drama, the 50-year-old Verdi sketched an unsparing portrait of a society broken by war, in which love, affection and compassion only occasionally brighten the darkness of the world. The principal figures of this opera – the lovers Leonora and Don Alvaro, and Leonora’s brother Don Carlo – are thrown right into the middle of this chaotic, disoriented world. A fatal pistol shot that makes Alvaro the unhappy murderer of Leonora’s father causes the lovers to go their separate ways. Leonora’s brother Carlo is destructive in his hatred and obstinate thirst for vengeance. He prevents a possible reconciliation of the lovers and provokes a catastrophic conclusion to the story.