La forza del destino
| Work data | |
|---|---|
| Title: | the power of destiny |
| Original title: | La forza del destino |
Poster by Charles Lecocq , around 1870 |
|
| Shape: | Opera in four acts |
| Original language: | Italian |
| Music: | Giuseppe Verdi |
| Libretto : |
Francesco Maria Piave (1st version), Antonio Ghislanzoni (new version) |
| Literary source: | Don Álvaro o la fuerza del sino by Ángel de Saavedra |
| Premiere: | October 29th Jul. / November 10, 1862 greg. |
| Place of premiere: |
Bolshoi Theater Saint Petersburg |
| Playing time: | approx. 2 ¾ hours |
| Place and time of the action: | Spain and Italy, in the mid-18th century |
| people | |
|
|
La forza del destino (German: Die Macht des Schicksals ) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi (music) and Francesco Maria Piave ( libretto ), premiered on October 29th July. / November 10, 1862 greg. in the Bolshoi Theater Saint Petersburg. Antonio Ghislanzoni wrote a new version of the libretto. In this form, the opera was played for the first time on February 27, 1869 at La Scala in Milan . The best-known element of the musical design is a “fate motif” that runs through the work like a guide from the overture on.
action
first act
A hall lined with damask
Leonora de Vargas expects her lover Don Alvaro, a young mestizo , at night to escape with him and live happily in their love. But when Alvaro appears, her father, the Marchese of Calatrava, also enters the room, insults the mestizo most violently and threatens him. To defend himself, Alvaro draws a pistol, but recovers and throws it on the ground to resolve the dispute. On impact, however, a shot is released and fatally hits the Marchese. He curses his daughter as he dies. Leonora and Alvaro have to flee, they lose sight of each other.
Second act
Large kitchen on the ground floor of an inn
Leonora's brother, Don Carlo de Vargas, learned of his father's death. Unaware of what happened, he is convinced that his sister and her lover murdered their father together in order to escape. Full of pain and anger, he has only one thing left in mind: to kill Leonora and the mestizo and thus to avenge his father.
In a village inn in the country, the people of the area come together to spend the evening together. Don Carlo pretended to be a student and mingled with the people: he followed the trail of his sister to this point, who actually hid herself in the tavern, disguised as a man. There Leonora sees her brother before he discovers her, and she manages to escape again.
Then Preziosilla, a young gypsy woman, appears to recruit volunteers for a war against the Germans; the fights take place in northern Italy and glory, honor and happiness are bestowed on each participant. They all enthusiastically decide to go to battle, including Don Carlo; he believes he has finally lost track of his sister and wants to start a new life abroad. When the rural people asked who he was, he told his story of suffering, albeit in an alienated form so as not to be recognized.
The Madonna degli Angeli church
Leonora is looking for the last resort in a monastery; but she does not want to live as a nun, but rather to atone for her "guilt" as a lonely hermit. She visits a Franciscan monastery. After the suspicious brother Melitone has allowed her in, she confesses her story to the strict but kind Father Guardian (that's the name of the head of a Franciscan monastery); she only reveals herself to him as a woman and begs him to take her in. Shaken and touched, the Guardian agrees to assign her to the hermitage not far from the monastery; but she is not allowed to leave them for the rest of her life. He calls all the brothers, and they solemnly swear to keep the secret for ever; anyone who would violently break it should be terribly hit by the vengeance of heaven - a curse that is to be cruelly come true at the end of the opera.
Third act
Forest
Desperate because he thought Leonore was dead, Alvaro became a soldier. Because of his great bravery, he was promoted to captain. Near a war camp, without recognizing him, he saves Don Carlo's life in an attack. Both swear eternal friendship. Alvaro is wounded in the battle. Don Carlo is supposed to throw a sealed package with letters into the fire for his friend. When he tries to do that, the picture of his sister Leonora falls out of this package.
Reception room of a senior officer's apartment
When Alvaro has recovered, Don Carlo challenges him to a duel, which he initially refuses. When he hears that Leonora is alive and Don Carlo is only looking for her only to then kill her, Alvaro takes up a gun. The fighters are separated. Alvaro then goes to the monastery.
Military camp at Velletri
Sutlers in front of the camp offer themselves to the soldiers. When Fra Melitone came by and preached about their sins, he was driven out. Preziosilla grabs a military drum and starts the warlike Rataplan .
Fourth act
Convent of the Madonna degli Angeli
In front of a monastery, a hungry crowd argue with Fra Melitone. Don Carlo appears and wants to speak to Alvaro. As soon as he sees him, he insults him violently, but when Alvaro shows no reaction, Don Carlo hits him in the face. Thereupon Alvaro takes up the sword and the friends and enemies go to battle.
Valley between inaccessible rocks
In the hermitage, Leonora prays for an imminent death. When she hears noises, she locks herself in and rings the bell. Alvaro and Don Carlo appear in a duel. Carlo is fatally wounded and lies there. Alvaro approaches the hermitage and knocks. His surprise is great when he recognizes Leonora who opens the door. She goes sadly to the wounded brother. But he stabs her with her last breath. Leonora breathes her life into the arms of her beloved Alvaro and the guardian who has hurried up. Through the comforting words of the Guardian, Alvaro can come to terms with the fate of having to go on living alone. (According to the first version in Petersburg, Alvaro falls to his death from a rock.)
Numbered sequence
There are various subdivisions of the nudes into scenes, numbers and the like. The following numbers for the version from 1869 come from the piano reduction by the editor Léon Escudier, Paris (no year, probably around 1870). The corresponding numbers in the version from 1862 are, if otherwise, added in brackets.
| number | designation | Begins with: |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sinfonia prelude |
|
| ATTO PRIMO - Siviglia FIRST ACT - Seville |
||
| 2 | Introduzione e Scena Introduction and scene |
MARCHESE Buona notte, mia figlia ... MARCHESE Good night, my daughter ... |
| 3 | Recitativo e Romanca Recitative and Romance |
CURRA Temea restasse qui fino a domani! CURRA I was afraid he would stay until tomorrow morning! |
| 4th | Scena e Duetto scene and duet |
CURRA M'ajuti, signorina ... CURRA help me, my mistress ... |
| 5 | Scena e Finale Primo scene and Finale of the first act |
LEONORA È tardi! LEONORA (Too late.) |
| ATTO SECONDO - Villagio d'Hornachuelos E Vicinanze SECOND ACT - The village of Hornachuelos and surroundings |
||
| 6th | Coro (e) Ballabile choir and dance |
MULATTIERI Holà, holà, holà! MULE DRIVER Holà, holà, holà! |
| 7th | Scena scene |
ALKALDE La cena è pronta ... ALKADE The meal is ready ... |
| 8th | Recitativo e Canzone Recitative and canzone |
PREZIOSILLA Viva la guerra! PREZIOSILLA Long live the war! |
| 9 | Preghiera prayer |
PELLEGRINI Padre Eterno Signor pietà di noi. PILGRIMS Father, God forever, have mercy on us. |
| 10 | Scena scene |
STUDENTS Viva la buona compagnia! STUDENT Cheers to the good company! |
| 11 | Ballata ballad |
STUDENT Poich'imberbe è l'incognito ... STUDENT Since the stranger is beardless ... |
| 12 | Scena, Coro e Ripresa della Danza Scene, choir and repetition of the dance |
ALKALDE sticks. ALKALDE (It's good.) |
| 13 | Aria aria |
LEONORA Son giunta! LEONORA I have reached my goal! |
| 14th | Scena scene |
MELITONE Chi siete? MELITONE Who are you? |
| 15th | Scena e Duetto scene and duet |
GUARDIANO Chi mi cerca? GUARDIANO (who wants to speak to me?) |
| 16 | Finale Secondo Finale of the second act |
GUARDIANO Il santo nome di Dio Signore ... GUARDIANO The sacred name of God ... |
| ATTO TERZO - In Italia Presso Velletri THIRD ACT - Italy, area near Velletri |
||
| 17th | Scena e Romanza scene and romance |
SOLDIER Attenti al gioco ... SOLDIERS Pay attention to the game ... |
| 18th | Scena e Duettino Scene and Duettino |
CARLOS Al tradimento ... CARLOS (Wrong game!) |
| 19th | Scena e Battaglia scene and battle |
SOLDIER All'armi! SOLDIERS To arms! |
| 20th | Scena e Duettino Scene and Duettino |
CARLOS Piano… qui posi… CARLOS (be careful… put it here…) |
| 21st | Scena ed Aria scene and aria |
CARLOS Morir! ... Tremenda cosa! CARLOS (dying, it's terrible!) |
| 22 (F) | Ronda Rondo |
CORO Compagni sostiamo ... CHORUS companions, let us rest |
| 23 (28B & 29B) | Scena e Duetto scene and duet |
ALVARO Nè gustare m'è dato un'ora di quiete ... ALVARO I haven't even been granted an hour of rest |
| 24 (22) | Coro e Strofe choir and songs |
VIVANDIÈRE ... Lorchè pifferie tamburi ... MARKETING WOMEN ... When pipes and drums ... |
| 25 (23) | Scena ed Arietta Scene and Arietta |
SOLDIER Qua Vivandiere, un sorso. SOLDIERS Here, sutlers, have a drink! |
| 26 (24) | Coro choir |
CONTADINI Pane pan per carità FARMERS (bread, bread, for God's sake!) |
| 27 (25) | Coro-Tarantella Choir and Tarantella |
PREZIOSILLA ... Nella guerra è la folia ... PREZIOSILLA ... (In war, arrogance must ...) |
| 28 (26) | Scena ed Aria Buffa scene and Buffo aria |
MELITON Toh, toh! Poffare il mondo! MELITONE (Oh, oh! The world is a madhouse!) |
| 29 (27) | Rataplan Rataplan |
PREZIOSILLA Lasciatelo ch'ei vada ... PREZIOSILLA (let him go ...) |
| ATTO QUARTO - Vicinanze d'Hornachuelos FOURTH ACT - Near Hornachuelos |
||
| 30th | Coro ed Aria Buffa choir and Buffo aria |
MENDICANTI Fate la carità ... BEGGARS Be merciful ... |
| 31 | Scena e Duetto scene and duet |
MELITON Up! ... Pazienza non v'ha che basti! MELITONE (Uff! There is no patience that is enough!) |
| 32 | Scena scene |
GUARDIANO Giunge qualcuno ... aprite ... GUARDIANO (someone is there, opens ...) |
| 33 | Scena e Duetto scene and duet |
CARLOS Invano Alvaro ti celasti al mondo CARLOS In vain, Alvaro, you have hidden yourself from the world |
| 34 | Melodia melody |
LEONORA Pace, pace, mio Dio! LEONORA Peace, peace, my God! |
| 35 (B) | Scena e Terzetto Finale Scene and finale of the last act |
CARLOS Io muoio! ... Confession! ... CARLOS I'm dying! ... Confession! |
Explanations of the numbers:
- 22 (F): the number 22 from 1869 is missing in 1862;
- 23 (28B & 29B): the number 23 from 1869 is an adaptation of numbers 28 and 29 from 1862;
- 35 (B): the number 35 was edited for 1869.
Instrumentation
The orchestral line-up for the opera includes the following instruments:
- Woodwinds : two flutes (2nd also piccolo ), two oboes , two clarinets (2nd also bass clarinet ), two bassoons
- Brass : four horns , two trumpets , three trombones , cimbasso
- Timpani , percussion : bass drum , snare drum , cymbals
- organ
- two harps
- Strings
- Incidental music on the scene: two small drums
- Incidental music behind the scene: six trumpets, four small drums
Work history
At the end of 1860, Verdi was elected to the new parliament for the constituency Busseto - Borgo San Donnino. When the first King of Italy, Victor Emmanuel II , was proclaimed in February 1861 , he was present and gave his vote when the new state was constituted on March 15th. But soon he was tired of being a politician.
Even during his political activities he received mail from the Roman singer Enrico Tamberlick, who gave a guest performance at the Petersburg Opera. On behalf of the opera management, he asked Verdi to write an opera for Petersburg. Verdi didn't think twice and said yes.
At first he intended to write an opera called Ruy Blas based on a model by Victor Hugo , but this was rejected in Petersburg. Other topics were discussed, but Verdi could not make up his mind. Shortly afterwards, his friend and fellow politician Camillo Conte di Cavour died , which caused Verdi to end his political career for good. He then decided on a new theme for Petersburg: La forza del destino was to be the opera based on Don Álvaro o la fuerza del sino (1835) by the Spanish duke, writer and politician Ángel de Saavedra , Duque de Rivas (1791–1865) , be called. The libretto was written by the now impoverished Francesco Maria Piave, who took up pen for the eighth and last time as a librettist for Verdi. Verdi began composing in August 1861, and the opera was finished in November.
On December 6, 1861, Verdi and his wife Giuseppina Strepponi arrived in Petersburg to prepare for the premiere. However, they left again in February 1862 because not everything could be realized according to Verdi's wishes. This was followed by a trip to London, where Verdi composed the Hymn of Nations (Inno delle nazioni) based on a text by the young Arrigo Boito for the World's Fair , followed by a short stay in Italy before returning to Petersburg in September 1862. After the roles could finally be cast according to Verdi's wishes, it came on October 29th July. / November 10, 1862 greg. for the premiere.
Verdi intended to make the new Italian opera in Petersburg acceptable. There were two musical directions in Russia. One was the national Russian trend around Modest Mussorgsky and his friends, the other was a trend towards Germany, which turned to the emerging Wagnerian musical drama. Verdi rejected both directions and joined forces to discredit Italian opera. It was all the more surprising that La forza del destino was received with unusual and exuberant enthusiasm in Petersburg.
Verdi enjoyed the success, but it did not block his view of the opera's weaknesses. The first performance in Italy under the name Don Alvaro was not a good star due to bad cast and fell through with the audience. In the autumn of 1863 Verdi wrote to Piave that the work was an accumulation of accidents and improbabilities and that the main characters Leonora and Alvaro had no fate, so that one should think about changing something about La forza del destino . Piave was meanwhile terminally ill; Antonio Ghislanzoni , who would later also write the libretto for Aida , took on the task of reworking .
The main changes were:
- A broad overture, almost a potpourri overture, instead of a short orchestral prelude.
- In the third act, the prevented duel was brought forward. The end of the act is the Capuchin sermon by Fra Melitone, which is based on the Capuchin sermon from Schiller's Wallenstein camp , and the concluding bellicose drum song Rataplan .
- In the fourth act, Don Carlo's fatal stab in the back against his sister Leonora and Carlos's death is moved backstage. Alvaro no longer throws himself off a rock with a curse on his lips, but instead receives divine grace in the final round.
The first performance of the reworked opera took place on February 27, 1869 at La Scala in Milan . This opera is still very popular worldwide today.
A performance in German in Vienna in 1863 was unsuccessful. It was not until 1878 that the Berlin Kroll Opera dared to perform the work in Germany. Initially, however, it was unsuccessful, as operas in Germany at that time were essentially measured by Wagner's standards for musical drama. It was only after the First World War that opera gained acceptance in Germany and has established a permanent place on the stage to this day, but is performed much less often than Verdi's Rigoletto , La traviata or Aida.
literature
- Hans Kühner: Giuseppe Verdi in personal testimonies and photo documents. Rowohlt Verlag, 1970, ISBN 3-499-50064-7 .
- The power of fate by Giuseppe Verdi. Opera text, Reclam-Verlag, 1986, ISBN 3-15-007297-2 .
- Culture Library, Volume II, Opera and Operetta Guide, 1986, ISBN 3-88199-297-9 .
Recordings / sound carriers
- 1941: Gino Marinuzzi (conductor), Orchestra Sinfonica e Coro dell'EIAR di Torino - Maria Caniglia (Leonora); Ebe Stignani (Preziosilla); Galliano Masini (Don Alvaro); Carlo Tagliabue (Don Carlo); Tancredi Pasero (Padre Guardiano); Saturno Meletti (Fra Melitone); Ernesto Dominici (Marchese di Calatrava)
- 1954: Tullio Serafin (conductor), Orchestra e coro del Teatro alla Scala - Maria Callas (Leonora); Elena Nicolai (Preziosilla); Richard Tucker (Don Alvaro); Carlo Tagliabue (Don Carlo); Nicola Rossi-Lemeni (Padre Guardiano); Renato Capecchi (Fra Melitone); Plinio Clabassi (Marchese di Calatrava); ( EMI )
- 1955: Francesco Molinari-Pradelli (conductor), Orchestra e Coro dell ' Accademia di Santa Cecilia , Roma - Renata Tebaldi (Leonora); Giulietta Simionato (Preziosilla); Mario del Monaco (Don Alvaro); Ettore Bastianini (Don Carlo); Cesare Siepi (Padre Guardiano); Fernando Corena (Fra Melitone); Silvio Maionica (Marchese di Calatrava); ( Decca Records )
- 1958: Fernando Previtali (conductor), Orchestra e Coro di Santa Cecilia di Roma - Zinka Milanov (Leonora); Rosalind Elias (Preziosilla); Giuseppe Di Stefano (Don Alvaro); Leonard Warren (Don Carlo); Giorgio Tozzi (Padre Guardiano); Dino Mantovani (Fra Melitone); Paolo Washington (Marchese di Calatrava); ( Decca Records )
- 1964: Thomas Schippers (conductor), RCA Italiana Orchestra and Chorus - Leontyne Price (Leonora); Shirley Verrett (Preziosilla); Richard Tucker (Don Alvaro); Robert Merrill (Don Carlo); Giorgio Tozzi (Padre Guardiano); Ezio Flagello (Fra Melitone); Giovanni Foiani (Marchese di Calatrava); ( RCA Records )
- 1969: Lamberto Gardelli (conductor), Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Ambrosian Opera Chorus - Martina Arroyo (Leonora); Biancamaria Casoni (Preziosilla); Carlo Bergonzi (Don Alvaro); Piero Cappuccilli (Don Carlo); Ruggero Raimondi (Padre Guardiano); Geraint Evans (Fra Melitone); Antonio Zerbini (Marchese di Calatrava); ( EMI )
- 1976: James Levine (conductor), London Symphony Orchestra, John Alldis Choir - Leontyne Price (Leonora); Fiorenza Cossotto (Preziosilla); Plácido Domingo (Don Alvaro); Sherrill Milnes (Don Carlo); Bonaldo Giaiotti (Padre Guardiano); Gabriel Bacquier (Fra Melitone); Kurt Moll (Marchese di Calatrava); ( RCA Records )
- 1985: Giuseppe Sinopoli (conductor), Philharmonia Orchestra, Ambrosian Opera Chorus - Rosalind Plowright (Leonora); Agnes Baltsa (Preziosilla); José Carreras (Don Alvaro); Renato Bruson (Don Carlo); Paata Burchuladze (Padre Guardiano); Joan Pons (Fra Melitone); John Tomlinson (Marchese di Calatrava); ( Deutsche Grammophon )
- 1986: Riccardo Muti (conductor), Orchestra e coro del Teatro alla Scala - Mirella Freni (Leonora); Dolora Zajick (Preziosilla); Plácido Domingo (Don Alvaro); Giorgio Zancanaro (Don Carlo); Paul Plishka (Padre Guardiano); Sesto Bruscantini (Fra Melitone); Giorgio Surjan (Marchese di Calatrava); ( EMI )
Web links
- La forza del destino : Sheet music and audio files in the International Music Score Library Project
- Libretto (Italian), Petersburg 1862. Digitized in the Firenze Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale
- Work information and libretto (Italian) as full text on librettidopera.it
- La forza del destino (Giuseppe Verdi) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna
- Plot and libretto from de at Opera-Guide target page due to URL change currently not available
- Discography of La forza del destino at Operadis
- A brief overview of the 1862 version and a brief overview of the 1869 version on klassika.info
Individual evidence
- ↑ La forza del destino (Verdi, Giuseppe) - Vocal Score website of the Petrucci Music Library IMSLP, accessed on June 16, 2018.
- ↑ La forza del destino - Libretto Website OPERNführer / OPERA-GUIDE, accessed on June 16, 2018.
- ↑ Gilles de Van: La forza del destino. In: Piper's Encyclopedia of Musical Theater. Volume 6: Works. Spontini - Zumsteeg. Piper, Munich / Zurich 1997, ISBN 3-492-02421-1 , p. 465.
- ↑ José Luis Navarro García: Historia del Baile Flamenco . Volume IV.Signatura Ediciones de Andalucía, Sevilla 2010, ISBN 978-84-96210-73-8 , pp. 85 .
Oberto (1839) | Un giorno di regno (1840) | Nabucco (1842) | I Lombardi (1843) | Ernani (1844) | I due Foscari (1844) | Giovanna d'Arco (1845) | Alzira (1845) | Attila (1846) | Macbeth (1847) | I masnadieri (1847) | Jerusalem (1847) | Il corsaro (1848) | La battaglia di Legnano (1849) | Luisa Miller (1849) | Stiffelio (1850) | Rigoletto (1851) | Il trovatore (1853) | La traviata (1853) | Les vêpres siciliennes (1855) | Simon Boccanegra (1857) | Aroldo (1857) | Un ballo in maschera (1859) | La forza del destino (1862) | Don Carlos (1867) | Aida (1871) | Otello (1887) | Falstaff (1893)