Giuseppe Verdi
The Force of Destiny
"Verdi...has bursts of marvellous passion. It is true his passion is brutal but it is better to be impassioned in this way than not at all."
Georges Bizet, letter, 1859
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SUMMARY
A giant human skull as the focal point. A chorus draped in black veils and wearing skull masks. A dramatic production where candle-lit interiors and earthy exteriors change in the blink of an eye. Welcome to director Tama Matheson’s mainstage opera debut and what promises to be a thrilling version of Verdi’s classic opera of vendetta, elopement, love, vengeance and doom.
The overture is among Verdi’s best, an exciting prelude to a plot replete with chaotic events, passionate characters and many a coincidence that takes them to boiling point. Mark Thompson’s stunning set and richly-detailed costumes conjure a dark, expressive landscape where death stalks the stage. The glory of war is undercut in a shattering climax of strident, resonating power.
The production features an all-star cast. Soprano Svetla Vassileva portrays Leonora in her Opera Australia debut, direct from New York’s Metropolitan Opera. Acclaimed international tenor Riccardo Massi plays Don Alvaro while the exemplary bass Giacomo Prestia also makes his Sydney Opera House debut. They are joined by many of the Company’s best-loved singers, including Jonathan Summers, Warwick Fyfe and Kanen Breen.
An Opera Conference co-production.
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