La Forza del Destino - English National Opera Guide 23 (includes libretto)

The Force of Destiny is Verdi's War and Peace, writes Peter Conrad of this epic opera composed for St. Petersburg in 1862

It encompasses the extremes of a religious and secular existence - the worlds of the lovers pursued by an uncompromising fate and of the people in the scenes at the inn and on the battlefield

Despite its beautiful score, this opera has often seemed nonsensical and confusing

Richard Bernas shows us how the music is devised as a convincing entity and Bruce A Brown traces the tortuous but fascinating history of the revisions

Is it an exercise in Brechtian detachment? How far are the values of the gipsy girl a dramatic counterweight to the spirituality of Leonora, Verdi's most haunted heroine?

Such questions are prompted by a consideration of this vital text in Andrew Porter's new English translation

At least as great as Don Carlos - which Verdi wrote between the two versions of this opera - The Force of Destiny deserves a serious reassessment

REVIEWS

'Brilliantly produced and superb value' ~ Sunday Times

'All these will provide the new opera-goer with food for thought' ~ Daily Telegraph

'Wholehearted recommendation of this valuable new series' ~ TLS