God's Forgiveness in Music and Vision 14 october

God's Forgiveness

A journey to the Almighty
with Verdi's 'The Force of Destiny',
highly rated by GIUSEPPE PENNISI

The Parma Verdi Festival is normally held in October (the composer was born on 10 October 1813) and lasts twenty seven days — the number of his operas (including the massive Requiem). Following the 2005-2011 revival, the festival has been in very severe financial troubles for the last three years. Furthermore, just a few weeks before the start of this year's festival, the general director and music director both resigned (effective 31 December 2014) and their replacements are yet to be identified. Thus, this Fall the manifestation includes only two operas — one of which, La Traviata, in the small Busseto Theatre, is a twenty five year old production — plus a few concerts, various lectures and children's operas.

Michele Pertusi as Padre Guardiano and Virginia Tola as Donna Leonora in Act II of Verdi's 'La forza del destino' at Teatro Regio di Parma. Photo © 2014 Roberto Ricci. Click on the image for higher resolution

Nonetheless, on 10 October 2014 I was in a central box at the splendid Teatro Regio for the festival inauguration with a production of La forza del destino. Technically a revival of a February 2011 staging (The Quality of Mercy, 1 February 2011), it may also be considered as a brand new production because the singers, conductor, orchestra and chorus director are all new. Also, Stefano Poda (author of the stage direction, stage sets, costumes, lighting and choreography) made several changes to his 2011 production. For instance, then the highly complex plot was set in the late nineteenth century with costumes clearly based on that period, but now it is a timeless and highly stylized journey towards redemption and God's forgiveness.

Michele Pertusi as Padre Guardiano and Virginia Tola as Donna Leonora in Act II of Verdi's 'La forza del destino' at Teatro Regio di Parma. Photo © 2014 Roberto Ricci. Click on the image for higher resolution

As in 2011, the 1869 version of the opera was performed, and as discussed here in February 2011, this version prepared for La Scala differs from the initial 1862 Forza — a commission by the St Petersburg Imperial Theatres — not only because the well-known symphony (often a concert piece by itself) was added, but also because the finale was changed. The 1862 Forza is a Byronic style tragedy where all the main protagonists kill each other and there is room for neither mercy nor God. The 1869 version has a finale where the tenor survives the tragedy; along with the dying soprano, and with help from a convent abbot, they find hope in God's mercy and in the afterworld. Thus, there is light at the end of a long dark tunnel.

Roberto de Candia (centre) as Fra Melitone in Act II of Verdi's 'La forza del destino' at Teatro Regio di Parma. Photo © 2014 Roberto Ricci. Click on the image for higher resolution

Poda's timeless staging depicts such an inner travel, through war and misery, toward Faith. Not everyone in the audience fully appreciated it. At the end of the performance there were some noises from the upper tier where a more traditional, and conventional, approach was expected. However, they were quickly silenced by the accolades and ovations from the orchestra seats and the boxes when the singers (who had received much open stage applause) and the conductor appeared.

A scene from Act III of Verdi's 'La forza del destino' at Teatro Regio di Parma. Photo © 2014 Roberto Ricci. Click on the image for higher resolution

Jader Bignamini conducted the Arturo Toscanini Philharmonic Orchestra, using the integral score of the Philip Gosset critical edition. It was a monumental four hour performance (including two short intermissions). Bignamini is thirty eight years old but can be considered as the most promising, if not the best Verdi conductor available in Italy. He reminded me of Riccardo Muti's San Carlo period some thirty five years ago. Not only did he keep a good balance between pit and stage, but he extracted from the orchestra the various musical colors and the juxtaposition of minor and major tonalities required by such a generally dark score, as well as Verdi's delicate counterpoint that years later exploded in Falstaff.

Virginia Tola as Donna Leonora in Act III of Verdi's 'La forza del destino' at Teatro Regio di Parma. Photo © 2014 Roberto Ricci. Click on the image for higher resolution

The principals — Virginia Tola, Chiara Amarù, Luca Salsi, Roberto Aronica, Michele Pertusi and Roberto de Candia — were all well experienced in their respective roles, and clearly offered the best of themselves with the awareness that they could make a contribution to saving the Verdi Festival. The new chorus master, Salvo Sgrò, was in perfect form.

A scene from Act IV of Verdi's 'La forza del destino' at Teatro Regio di Parma. Photo © 2014 Roberto Ricci. Click on the image for higher resolution

In short, this was a long but passionate evening at the opera.

Copyright © 14 October 2014 Giuseppe Pennisi,
Rome, Italy