The uncoiling spring of inexorable fate is the motor of Verdi’s Force of Destiny. But for Calixto Bieito the tragedy that unfolds is the by-product of a fanatical, patriarchal society engaged in a brutal civil war, presented in stark monochrome sets by Rebecca Ringst, powerfully lit by Tim Mitchell.
The Rataplan chorus is no mere crowd-pleasing call to arms, but invokes the reality of war with a chilling execution of reluctant conscripts. Nor does the clergy come well out of it: the Father Superior (the formidably voiced James Creswell) partially strips Leonora, clinks her chains and shockingly chops her hair to the ironic accompaniment of an ethereal violin solo. The friar Melitone (a role admirably taken by Andrew Shore) behaves equally heartlessly to the starving beggars (his overturning of their pot never seemed very funny anyway).
The Leonora of Tamara Wilson is a real discovery: radiant with a touch of metal, she’s a true Verdian. Gwyn Hughes Jones as her lover Alvaro produces some thrilling tone, while Anthony Michaels-Moore is in splendid voice as Carlo. Mark Wigglesworth, in conjunction with his superb choral and orchestral forces, contributes hugely to the compulsive effect of the drama, minimising opportunities for disruptive applause.
Bieito typically pulls no punches and this hard-hitting, tremendously powerful show won’t be to all tastes. I’d love to see him take his curtain call when it travels to the Met.
Until December 4; eno.org
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