La forza del destino de Verdi

In the same vein as Alessandro Manzoni's The Betrothed, the incredibly influential novel that marked the unification of Italy (linguistically and nationalistically), La Forza del destino is a quintessentially Italian opera from start to finish. The two works bear numerous similarities: themes of religion and providence, a historical framework set amid war in Italy, impossible love stories… The opera's plot is straightforward: Donna Leonora, the 20-year-old daughter of the Marquis de Calatrava, falls in love with Don Alvaro, but his inferior social status leads Leonora's father to oppose their union. Fleeing her unhappy fate, Leonora decides to live as a hermit in a distant monastery, but the arrival of her brother Don Carlo ultimately leads to a tragic end…

The Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège pays tribute to the cultural roots of Verdi's musical drama with an international and largely Italian cast, from an excellent staging by Francesco Maestrini and a superb turn at the podium by Paolo Arrivabeni to remarkable onstage performances by Fabio Armiliato (Don Alvaro), Daniela Dessì (Donna Leonora), and Giovanni Meoni (Don Carlo).