Verdi: La forza del destino

Verdi’s operatic tale of love and vengeance, all wrapped up in a series of tragic twists, was premiered in 1862 in St. Petersburg, Russia. It’s barely stayed out of opera houses since then, while its overture was the inspiration for the haunting theme to the classic 1986 French movie Jean de Florette. While Andrea Bocelli justifiably takes top billing in this full performance, it’s Dinara Alieva that really commands the stage. The Azerbaijani soprano, as the ill-fated Leonora, owns the ideal combination of vocal beauty, technical agility, and sheer power with which to ignite the passions that burn and rage throughout the opera. She’s on incredible form in “Madre, pietosa Vergine” and again in Leonora’s famous aria “Pace, pace, mio Dio.” Alieva’s artistry is matched by Bocelli’s emotionally sympathetic, vocally vibrant turn as Leonora’s lover, Don Alvaro, whose accidental shooting of her father sets the “force of destiny” in motion. His ringing sound, instantly recognizable, unlocks the wretched emotions of “Oh, tu che in seno,” and, with whip-smart direction from conductor Valerio Galli, raises shivers with the intensity of his final exchanges with the dying Leonora.