Opera Review: Verdi's The Force of Destiny at the London Coliseum

4 / 5 stars
Review: The Force of Destiny English National Opera at the London Coliseum

DYSFUNCTIONAL families seem well-suited to opera plots. The plot of Verdi's Force of Destiny involves a father, the Marquis of Calatrava, who disapproves of his daughter's boyfriend, Don Alvaro to such an extent that the girl and her man plan to elope.

The Force of DestinyPH

The Force of Destiny is a triumph but could be better

They take such a time over it that Dad interrupts their plans just as she is dithering about fleeing and he is accidentally shot by Don Alvaro, whom the Marquis curses with his final breath. He curses his daughter too and her brother, Don Carlo, vows to avenge their father's death.

The poor girl seeks refuge in a monastery, two Dons meet, don't recognise each other, and even save each other's lives, but that does not free Don Carlo from his vow. So Destiny has its brutally fatal way with all concerned.

So what, you may ask, has all this to do with the Spanish Civil War and people tearing up books? The answer, of course, is very little, other than in the mind of director Calixto Bieito, who seems always to inject a large dose of self-indulgence into his productions.

Force of Destiny PH

The music and singing in this Verdi production are outstanding

The back of the stage is all too frequently projective with iconic images of the war, including some taken from Picasso's great painting Guernica, while the book tearing, which noisily detracts from one scene, seems to be a reference to the book burning that took place during the same conflict. But those added nothing to the opera other than irritation.

That was a shame, because musically the performance was outstanding. Mark Wigglesworth began his role as music director of ENO less than two months ago with a stunning performance of Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk and his interpretation of this Verdi opera is equally masterful.

Wigglesworth conducts the orchestra with a perfect combination of authority and sensitivity, usually imposing his sublime musicality to draw the very best out of the orchestra, but at times apparently letting the singers control the pace. He seems able to strike the perfect balance between the singers and instrumentalists throughout.

By a very short head, however, it's the singing that comes out on top, with as perfect a cast as one could wish for in this production. The American soprano Tamara Wilson has a stunningly powerful voice as the doomed Marquis's daughter. However loud the orchestra played, her voice seemed to soar above it. Gwyn Hughes Jones as her lover was almost equally brilliant, while Anthony Michaels-Moore was deliciously venomous as the vengeful Don Carlo.

With James Creswell as a sonorously imperious Father Superior and Andrew Shore adding a darkly comic touch as the sneaky friar Melitone, it all added up to as outstanding a cast as I have seen at ENO. The translation into English by Jeremy Sams, by far the best of the regular ENO translators, was also excellent.

It would have been nice, however, if the director had let the performers interact with each other rather more. Both the opening scene, culminating in the death of the Marquis, and the final scene, with almost everyone dying, are packed with emotion, yet the singers all seem to stand or sit rigidly, scarcely even looking at each other.

I am sure Bieito had some reason for doing it this way, but I cannot see what it was.

Five stars for the singing, five stars for the music, two stars for the production (even the wonky walls comprising the scenery seemed out of place). That averages out at four stars. Very good, but could have been even better.

Box Office: 020 7845 9300 or www.eno.org (last performance December 4).

This opera will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on Boxing Day.

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