Verdi: La Forza Del Destino / Gergiev

LA FORZA DEL DESTINO

For this historic production by Elijah Moshinsky, designer Andrei Voitenko based the sets on the 1862 originals by Andreas Roller. Night scenes are awash in blue moonlight and always present a prominently placed full-moon; backdrops are towering, lavish and evocatively artificial. The final scene outside Leonora’s cave even has a painted waterfall. Brian Large’s effective video rendering of the performance precedes each scene with Roller’s corresponding original pen-and-ink sketch, which dissolves into the stage set. It’s about as traditional a production of this opera as one will ever see, at times putting one pleasantly in mind of illustrations from early editions of The Victor Book of the Opera. Galina Gorchakova brings full, ripe spinto sound to Leonora throughout her range, with a particularly powerful chest register. She gives a highly committed performance. © 2012 Opera News

Price: $42.98