I have always been a huge opera fan, and of Verdi. La Forza del Destino is not my favourite of his operas, but it is a very compelling opera all the same on all levels. As far as productions of La Forza del Destino go, I love the 1984 production the best, and there are some great recordings of it, the recording with Price, Domingo and Milnes comes to mind.
This production though is still excellent. The costumes and sets are wonderful and well-lit, there is some impressive video directing and the orchestra, chorus and James Levine's conducting are superb. There are some very well-staged scenes, particularly Pace, Pace Mio Dio, La Vita E inferno and Solenne in Quest'ora.
There are some great performances too. Sharon Sweet is very good as Leonora, while Placido Domingo especially in La Vita E Inferno is wonderful as Alvaro, his voice is noble and heroic yet with a dark quality and his acting is outstanding. Vladmir Chernov mayn't have the largest voices of all the Don Carlos I've heard, Leonard Warren or Sherrill Milnes are contenders for this, however it is a beautiful one with a lot of colour in it, he blends wonderfully with Domingo in their duets together and he is a very gifted actor too with Morrir Tremenda Cosa..Urna Fatale coming across as very exciting. And Roberto Scandiuzzi and a well sung and benevolent Padre Guardiano.
All in all, excellent production. 9/10 Bethany Cox
