La forza della voce
Mariusz Treliński directs La Forza del Destino in New York (*****½) [cinema]
We were looking out for the first new production of La forza del destino in New York in 30 years. We remember the approach of Mariusz Treliński and Boris Kudlička of the double bill “Yolanta” and “Bluebeard’s Castle”, quite a few years ago, as valuable: renewing and intelligent. On the other hand, the cast of this new Forza appealed to the imagination, featuring Lise Davidson as Leonora.
Well, this Forza is warmly recommended.
Verdi can be tricky. The quality of his music is at times too evident, not to say almost pedestrian humdrum. That is mainly a problem in operas he wrote during the so called “anni di galera”, when he was practically forced to work as a penny-a-liner. In the collective memory, the titles of those operas are not much more than that: titles – “I Lombardi”, “Alzira”, etc. It is therefore amazing that a work of his riper age as La forza del destino is rather seldom heard. Admittedly, the story is not the most accessible, but that can be said, more than rightly so, of Il Trovatore. Is La forza’s music perhaps less interesting? Probably that’s where the shoe pinches. Il trovatore delivers a chain of exceptionally powerful items, which naturally found their way into the hitlist of Italian opera. This cannot be said of La forza del destino – the sinfonia excepted. Whether this is just is another question.
The answer to this question is mixed. Some of the scenes are barely rising above routine; they’re not Verdi’s most inspired moments. On the other hand, a number of items are of a moving beauty where the experienced craftsman/ inspired artist unmistakably comes to light. Think of Leonora’s first aria, which is, apart from its melodic riches, brilliantly scored. A quality already appearing in Don Carlos, and which will later return in Otello. Or the monks’ choir in the second act, which is wonderful in its mindful honesty. And, honour where honour is due, Yannick Nézèt-Séguin turns the sinfonia into a marvellous experience, full of seldom heard details.
This New York Forza clearly escapes the curse of triteness. I will discuss the cast later. Mariusz Treliński’s production is absolutely worth mentioning. He raises this opera over the mere level of overwrought melodrama by furnishing this kind of obsolete fatality with an intrinsic human dimension: fate is inherent to our genetics. We react to certain situations according to the way we are wired: 10 percent bad luck and 90 percent genetic determination. That is something which can perfectly be shown in a contemporary setting, where the turbulent, crisis ridden times we live in are providing material for a cultural clearcutting forcing the de characters to save themselves.
Moreover, Treliński succeeds in maintaining the dramatical logic of the balance of eras (the era of the original story, the era of the composition, the era of the production). Let me explain myself. In Ángel Saavedra’s 18th century story, a scene in an inn where behaviour goes beyond the borders of decency is as good as unthinkable. Treliński’s inn is a place of decadence, illustrating the behaviour of military occupiers. It is a fact that a war of aggression is based upon lies and other forms of moral decay, leading to self-delusion in the perpetrators; decadence is the inevitable consequence. History provides us with many examples; our time doesn’t fall short. Our time. On the other hand, he has the guts to project behind the monks’ choir and the suffering and praying Leonora an image of the Holy Virgin, (exuberantly) dressed like a procession statue: cultural inheritance of Verdi’s Italy.
And there’s the film director Treliński showing himself from the start by realising fast – for an opera – scene changes, using the turning plateau. Very efficient.
The cast of this Forza is, in average, of superior quality. A lot remains to be said about Lise Davidsen, but it is a fact that, at 37, she is noticeably approaching the peak of her vocal capacities. And by “peak”, I don’t mean the top of the mountain, followed by a descent. What I mean is that she is about to reach the professional level allowing her to master all the parts in her “Stimmfach”, and that, given her perfect singing technique, she will be able to maintain that level for quite some time.
A word about that “Stimmfach”. Since his acquaintance with Giuseppina Strepponi (in Nabucco), Verdi did away with Rossinian elegance once and for all in leading soprano parts of a dramatic signature (there being others as well). He designs vocally tragic but very powerful characters that display the tragic events adequately, precisely by their vocal energy. The importance of this pure level of energy can be demonstrated as follows: compare La forza del destino with a Donizetti opera playing on a similar triangle - woman (soprano) with lover (tenor) being thwarted by her hostile brother (baritone): Lucia di Lammermoor. Two soprano parts which couldn’t be more apart; not interchangeable at all. For a Leonora, you need a “cannon”. Period. Lise Davidsen fills the part perfectly, vocally and dramatically. She acts convincingly, not to say “compellingly”. What an acquisition!
The rest of the cast is almost as satisfying. Tenor Brian Jagde (Alvaro) and baritone Igor Golovatenko (Carlo) do what they have to, and then some, in their aria’s and duets. The somewhat special – slightly comical part of Fra Melitone is honourably being served by Patrick Carfizzi. Still, two objections. The gipsy Preziosilla got the voice of Judit Kutasi. I guess I noticed some intonation issues; with a vibrato like hers, that is impossible to determine… Her acting, however, was quite convincing. Which can’t be said of Solomon Howard as both Leonora’s father and Fra Guardiano. Simply said: a stick. And he didn’t do any better vocally: his voice misses focus due to a faulty technique. The surrounding forces we know well: the Met’s chorus and orchestra are certitudes; there is nothing to be said against that.
Conclusion: a Forza to see and hear a second time.