The retransmission in cinemas of The Force of Destiny proposed by the Met was one of the most anticipated of the season, firstly because it is a new production and above all because Lise Davidsen made her debut in a Verdian role on the New York stage after having sung there mainly Wagner and Richard Strauss. Unfortunately the broadcast was seriously disrupted during the first three quarters of an hour of the performance by untimely interruptions of the image and/or sound in the room where we were, to the point that more than half of the spectators had thrown the sponge when finally everything is back to normal at the beginning of Leonora’s aria “Son giunta” in act two. We were therefore unable to listen to its first aria or the entire inn scene which opens this act. There was nevertheless enough music to appreciate the work of the different protagonists.
While respecting the many adventures that the characters face, Mariusz Treliński tells us a story different from that offered in the booklet, easily understandable thanks to the intertitles which punctuate each change of scene and the relevant videos of Bartec Macias which give spectators in cinemas the impression of watching an action film. The plot takes place in the present day and begins in the Calatrava Hotel, a luxurious establishment in which the owner, a dictator in uniform, presides over a sort of fascist rally. It’s actually a reception in honor of his daughter Leonora’s birthday. We are told that after the accidental death of Calatrava a war broke out which will last several years until the outcome of the action. At the end of the first scene of act two which we were barely able to see, Leonora flees by car, but she has an accident, shown on video, from which she escapes almost unscathed, near the monastery where officiates Padre Guardiano. He is as severe as her father since he subjects her to a flogging session before agreeing to accommodate her. Both roles are played by the same bass on purpose. Indeed, during the final trio, Guardiano appears like a ghost above the Alvaro / Leonora couple, dressed in Calatrava’s uniform. The third act takes place on a battlefield where war rages, a video reminiscent of a sequence ofApocalypse Now shows us a squadron of helicopters rushing towards the audience. The last painting plunges us into a post-war atmosphere, the setting represents a city half destroyed by bombings in which homeless people wander in rags, where Leonora’s lair is none other than a station dirty and dilapidated subway station. During the intermission, the Polish director explains in his interview that he was influenced by the current situation, especially since Poland neighbors Ukraine. As for the dictator who owns a luxury hotel, everyone is free to see this as an allusion to a candidate for the United States presidential election.
The Force of Destiny © Karen Almond Met Opera
The cast brings together a team of top-flight performers, who embody their characters with conviction. The supporting roles are all remarkably well performed. Let us cite the Curra granted Stephanie Lauricellathe sonic alcalde of Christopher Job and l’excellent Trabuco de Carlo Bosi. Patrick Carfizzi portrays a lackluster Melitone, less ridiculous than usual during the distribution of food to the hungry. We still regret that his harangue to the soldiers at the end of act three was overlooked. The Preziosilla of Judit Kutasi, with piercing highs, seemed in the background during his “Rataplan” where we expect a more brilliant interpretation. She seems to have been more on her case in the second act where she appears as a cabaret artist. Solomon Howard easily performs well in the dual role entrusted to him. As credible as a ruthless dictator as a sadistic monk, the American bass has a dark timbre and a deep bass register which allows it to establish its authority. Soloist of the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow Igor Golovatenko has a real Verdi baritone range. His velvety timbre and his art of legato work wonders in his grand aria “Urna fatale”, while his theatrical investment reaches heights during his spectacular duets with the tenor. Brian Jagde possesses the exact means required for the role of Alvaro, which he sings without difficulty, with exemplary fidelity to the score. His great aria of the third “La vita è inferno all’infelice” loaded with emotion earned him a deserved ovation from the audience. We regret, however, that he is stingy with nuances and that his singing is too often limited to a forte/mezzo forte alternation. Lise Davidsen, the great triumphant of the evening, finds in Leonora a role commensurate with her great means. The Norwegian soprano manages to transcend her natural coldness to deliver an incarnation full of generosity, sensitivity and an emotion that grabs you in the guts as well in “Madre pietosa vergine” whose formidable climbs to the high notes pose no problem for her , as in “Pace, pace” which she approaches with a sumptuous messa di voce and which she embellishes with a B flat pianissimo on the phrase “invan la pace”. At the head of a Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in great form, Yannick Nézet-Séguin directs with energy and an innate sense of theater this heterogeneous score whose different affects he highlights. In this regard, the prelude to act three with its clarinet solo immediately creates a climate of infinite sadness.
On Saturday March 23, the Metropolitan Opera will broadcast in cinemas on the Pathé Live network Romeo and Juliet With Benjamin Bernheim and Nadine Sierra.
2024-03-12 09:43:58
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