La forza del destino

"The cast is a dream team", wrote the Financial Times after the premiere of this production of Verdi's "La forza del destino" at the Wiener Staatsoper. At the top of the list is soprano Nina Stemme, who gives a full blooded portrayal of Leonora. Passionate, forceful readings are also provided by Salvatore Licitra as Alvaro, Leonora's lover, and by Carlos Alvarez as Don Carlo, Leonora's vengeful brother. Zubin Mehta leads the Staatsoper Orchestra with agility, subtleness and relaxed mastery. Director David Pountney establishes the randomness of fate at the outset in a video depicting a butterfly flapping its wings and setting fortune's wheel into motion.