Gran Teatre del Liceu tickets 19 November 2024 - La forza del destino | GoComGo.com

La forza del destino

Gran Teatre del Liceu, Main Stage, Barcelona, Spain
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7:30 PM
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Important Info
Type: Opera
City: Barcelona, Spain
Starts at: 19:30
Acts: 4
Duration: 3h 15min

E-tickets: Print at home or at the box office of the event if so specified. You will find more information in your booking confirmation email.

You can only select the category, and not the exact seats.
If you order 2 or 3 tickets: your seats will be next to each other.
If you order 4 or more tickets: your seats will be next to each other, or, if this is not possible, we will provide a combination of groups of seats (at least in pairs, for example 2+2 or 2+3).

Cast
Performers
Bass: Alejandro López (Il Marchese di Calatrava)
Baritone: Amartuvshin Enkhbat (Don Carlo di Vargas)
Choir: Chorus of the Gran Teatre del Liceu
Tenor: Francesco Pio Galasso (Don Alvaro)
Conductor: Nicola Luisotti
Soprano: Saioa Hernández (Leonora)
Orchestra: Symphony Orchestra of the Gran Teatre del Liceu
Mezzo-Soprano: Szilvia Vörös (Preziosilla)
Creators
Composer: Giuseppe Verdi
Poet: Ángel de Saavedra
Librettist: Francesco Maria Piave
Director: Jean-Claude Auvray
Overview

The brilliant direction of maestro Nicola Luisotti will be a lesson in Verdian style applied to scenes of great lyricism and refinement, alternating with comic passages.

La forza del destino is a mature opera by Verdi. Released four years after Un ballo in maschera, a very special moment in its production, it coincides with the taste of the time for a look at the exoticism of other worlds. Focused on this fascination with Spanish culture, Verdi wrote Ernani (1844), Il trovatore (1853), Don Carlo (1867) and La forza del destino (1862).

The action begins with the dream of two lovers, Don Alvaro and Leonora, preparing to elope, but the two lovers are surprised by the young woman's father. Misfortune will follow them when Don Alvaro, while throwing his pistols on the ground, one accidentally fires and kills the father: fortune is capricious and laughs at the fate of men.

Only Verdi's talent could transform a convoluted plot, full of clichés from the Spanish romantic school, into an opera that is the quintessence of the Italian repertoire of the 19th century and a true musical miracle.

La forza is an adaptation of the play Don Álvaro or la fuerza del sino, a drama in five days in prose and verse by Ángel María de Saavedra and Ramírez de Baquedano, Duke of Rivas, premiered at the Teatro del Príncipe in Madrid on 1835. Verdi and Piave were enthusiastic about the work of this curious character, great from Spain, the most famous dramatist of his time, painter and politician who even became president of the government for two days in year 1854; to complete the libretto, a scene adapted from Friedrich Schiller's Wallensteins Lager, one of Giuseppe Verdi's main authors, was added.

Verdi traveled to Saint Petersburg, the capital of the Russian Empire at the time, in December 1861 to attend the premiere of his new opera, which had to be cancelled, although it was finally opened in November of the following year at the Kámenny Bolshoi Theater (later, Mariisnky). It was the beginning of an anecdote full of "bad luck" that has remained forever associated with this Verdi title, also known as "the Innominable", a black legend in offering numerous problems both in the field of production and placement scene like even real deaths on stage. A great Italian fresco full of plot twists in which the curse of the father will weigh and overshadow everything. La Forza, like Rigoletto and Il Trovatore, is also a work of its time.

In 1861, Verdi agreed to become a member of parliament to pursue his political ideals. However, "Il Risorgimento" was more ambitious than Verdi wanted, and the composer entered into a certain skepticism. This same dark melancholy/melancholy permeates the entire score, where the motif of fate recurs throughout the idea of ​​redemption. In this co-production between the Opéra de Paris and the Grand Theater of the Liceu, signed by Jean-Claude Auvray, the opera becomes a place where dreams break against the wall of reality as a weak, but toxic, emerges song of hope An immense canvas for this opera with a minimalist scenography full of romantic details and a score that demands sublime performers such as Maria Agresta and Saioa Hernández to find all the nuances of Leonora's emotion (from joy through resignation of the last broken heart). Along with these, a cast with Brian Jagde as Don Alvaro, the man she loves, and Artur Rucinski, Don Carlo, the dark instrument of her destiny.

Co-production between the Opéra de Paris and the Gran Teatre del Liceu, signed by Jean-Claude Auvray

History
Premiere of this production: 10 November 1862, Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre, Saint Petersburg

La forza del destino (The Power of Fate, often translated The Force of Destiny) is an Italian opera by Giuseppe Verdi. The libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on a Spanish drama, Don Álvaro o la fuerza del sino (1835), by Ángel de Saavedra, 3rd Duke of Rivas, with a scene adapted from Friedrich Schiller's Wallensteins Lager.

Synopsis

Place: Spain and Italy
Time: around 1750

Overture
The music begins with the opera's "Fate" motif, an ominous three Es unison in the brass.

Act 1

The mansion of Leonora's family, in Seville

Don Alvaro is a young nobleman from South America (presumably Peru) who is part Indian and who has settled in Seville where he is not very well thought of. He falls in love with Donna Leonora, the daughter of the Marquis of Calatrava, but Calatrava is determined that she shall marry only a man of the highest birth. Despite knowing her father’s aversion to Alvaro, Leonora is deeply in love with him, and she determines to give up her home and country in order to elope with him. In this endeavor, she is aided by her confidante, Curra. (Me pellegrina ed orfana – "Exiled and orphaned far from my childhood home").

When Alvaro arrives to fetch Leonora, she hesitates: she wants to elope with him, but part of her wants to stay with her father; she eventually pulls herself together, ready for their elopement. However, the Marquis unexpectedly enters and discovers Leonora and Alvaro together. He threatens Alvaro with death, and in order to remove any suspicion as to Leonora’s purity, Alvaro surrenders himself. As he flings down his pistol, it goes off, mortally wounding the Marquis, who dies cursing his daughter.

Act 2

Scene 1: An inn in the village of Hornachuelos

About a year has passed since the death of the Marquis of Calatrava. While fleeing the scene, Leonora and Alvaro became separated, and neither has made any concerted effort to find the other.

In this scene, the Alcalde, several peasant muleteers, Don Carlo of Vargas (the brother of Donna Leonora), and many others are gathered in the kitchen of the inn as dinner is served. Don Carlo, disguised as a student from Salamanca and using the fictitious name Pereda, is now seeking revenge against Alvaro and Leonora for dishonoring the family name. (Son Pereda son ricco d'onore – "I am Pereda, of honorable descent"). During the supper, Preziosilla, a popular young gypsy girl, arrives, and she tells the young men’s fortunes and exhorts them to enlist in the war (Al suon del tamburo – "When side drums rattle") for Italy’s freedom, which all agree to do. Leonora arrives in male attire, on her way to a nearby monastery, but luckily she slips away without being discovered by Carlo.

Scene 2: A monastery nearby

Leonora has come to take refuge in the monastery to live out her remaining days secluded from the rest of mankind. (Son giunta! ... Madre, pietosa Vergine – "I've got here! Oh, thank God!") After a somewhat surly reception by Fra Melitone, she tells the abbot, Padre Guardiano, her true name and her wish to spend the remainder of her life in the monastery's hermitage. The abbot recounts the trials she will have to undergo. Leonora, Padre Guardiano, Fra Melitone, and the other monks join in prayer as she is accepted in the hermitage.

Act 3

Scene 1: A forest near Velletri, in Italy

Meanwhile Don Alvaro has joined the Spanish army under the name of Don Federico Herreros (La vita è inferno all'infelice ... O tu che in seno agli angeli – "Life is a hell to those who are unhappy....Oh, my beloved, risen among the angels"). One night he saves the life of Don Carlo who is serving in the same army under the name of Don Felix Bornos. They become close friends and go side by side into the Battle of Velletri, an historical event which occurred in 1744.

Scene 2: The officers' quarters

In one of these engagements Don Alvaro returns, believing himself to be mortally wounded. He entrusts to Don Carlo’s care a valise containing a bundle of letters which he orders his friend to destroy as soon as Don Alvaro dies: (Solenne in quest'ora – "Swear to me, in this solemn hour"). Don Carlo has sworn not to look at the contents of the letters; but he becomes suspicious of his friend. (Morir! Tremenda cosa! ... Urna fatale del mio destino – "To die! What an awesome thought...Get away, fatal lot sent to my Destiny!"). He opens the valise, finds his sister’s picture, and realizes Alvaro's true identity. At that moment a surgeon brings word that Don Alvaro may recover. Don Carlo is overjoyed at the idea of avenging his father’s death.

Scene 3: A camp near the battleground

Having recovered, Alvaro is confronted by Carlo. They begin to duel, but are pulled away from each other by the soldiers. As they restrain Carlo, the anguished Don Alvaro vows to enter a monastery.

The soldiers gather. Trabucco, the peddler, tries to sell them his wares; Fra Melitone chastises them for their godless ways; and Preziosilla leads them in a chorus in praise of the military life (Rataplan, rataplan, della gloria – "Rum-tum-tum on the drum is the music that makes a soldier's martial spirit rise").

Act 4

Scene 1: The monastery

Impoverished peasants from the region approach Fra Melitone at the monastery at Hornachuelos for food and Padre Guardiano gently scolds Melitone for his less than charitable behavior towards them. Don Carlo then approaches, having learned of the presence of Don Alvaro there. Under the name of Father Raphael, Alvaro has indeed entered the monastery, near which is Leonora’s cave. Don Carlo forces him into a fight (Le minacce, i fieri accenti – "May the winds carry off with them").

Scene 2: A desolate spot near Leonora's hermitage

Leonora prays that she may find peace in death (Pace, pace mio Dio! – "Peace, O mighty Father, give me peace!"). Alvaro runs in, calling for help, having mortally wounded Carlo in their duel. The two lovers recognize each other. Leonora seeks her brother and, as she bends over him, he stabs her in the heart. The dying Leonora returns, supported by Padre Guardiano; he and Alvaro pray to heaven as she dies.

Venue Info

Gran Teatre del Liceu - Barcelona
Location   La Rambla, 51-59

The Gran Teatre del Liceu, or simply Liceu in Catalan, is a main opera house in Barcelona, Catalonia, located on the central street of the city - La Rambla. The Liceu opened on 4 April 1847.

The Gran Teatre del Liceu dates back to 1837 when at the instigation of Manuel Gibert, a battalion of the National Militia formed the institutional core of the future Teatre in the unused monastery of Montsió (currently Portal del Ángel): a dramatic society of aficionados devoted to the performing arts. The first show premiered on 21 August 1837: El marido de mi mujer, by Ventura de la Vega, a dance number and a skit.

Origins (1837–1847)
In 1837, the Liceo Filodramático de Montesión (Philodramatic Lyceum of Montesión, now named Conservatori Superior de Música del Liceu) was founded in Barcelona to promote musical education (hence the name "Liceo", or lyceum) and organize scenic representations of opera performed by Liceo students.

A theatre was built in the convent building — named Teatro de Montesión or Teatro del Liceo de Montesión — and plays and operas were performed: the first was Vicenzo Bellini's Norma (3 February 1838). The repertoire was Italian, the most performed composers being Donizetti and Mercadante as well as Bellini and Rossini. The Barcelona premiere of Hérold's Zampa was held here.

In 1838, the society changed its name to Liceo Dramático Filarmónico de S. M. la Reina Isabel II (Dramatic Philharmonic Lyceum of H.M. Queen Isabel II). Lack of space, as well as pressures, brought to bear by a group of nuns (who were the former proprietors of the convent and had recovered rights to return), motivated the Liceu to leave its headquarters in 1844. The last theatre performance was on 8 September.

The Trinitarian convent building located in the center of the town at la Rambla was purchased. The managers of the Liceu entrusted Joaquim de Gispert d'Anglí with a project to make the construction of the new building viable. Two different societies were created: a "building society" and an "auxiliary building society". Shareholders of the building society obtained the right of use in perpetuity of some theatre boxes and seats in exchange for their economic contributions. Those of the second society contributed the rest of the money necessary in exchange for property of other spaces in the building including some shops and a private club called the Círculo del Liceo.

In contrast with many other European cities, where the monarchy took on the responsibility of the building and upkeep of opera houses, the Liceu was funded by private shareholders of what would become the Societat del Gran Teatre del Liceu (Great Liceu Theatre Society), organized similarly to a trading company or society. This is reflected in the building's architecture; for example, there exists no royal box. The Queen did not contribute to the construction, so the name of the society was changed to Liceo Filarmónico Dramático, removing the Queen's name from it.

Miquel Garriga i Roca was the architect contracted; the construction began on 11 April 1845. The theatre was inaugurated on 4 April 1847.

Opening, fire, and rebuilding (1847–1862)
The inauguration presented a mixed program including the premieres of José Melchior Gomis' musical Ouverture, a historical play Don Fernando de Antequera by Ventura de la Vega, the ballet La rondeña (The girl from Ronda) by Josep Jurch, and a cantata Il regio himene with music by the musical director of the theatre Marià Obiols. The first complete opera, Donizetti's Anna Bolena was presented on 17 April. At this point, Liceu was the biggest opera house in Europe with 3,500 seats. Other operas performed in the Liceu during the first year were (in chronological order): I due Foscari (Verdi), Il bravo (Mercadante), Parisina d'Este (Donizetti), Giovanna d'Arco (Verdi), Leonora (Mercadante), Ernani (Verdi), Norma (Bellini), Linda di Chamounix (Donizetti) and Il barbiere di Siviglia (Rossini).

The building was severely damaged by fire on 9 April 1861, but it was rebuilt by the architect Josep Oriol Mestres and re-opened on 20 April 1862, performing Bellini's I puritani. From the old building, only the facade, the entrance hall, and the foyer (Mirrors Hall) remained.

Bombing and civil war (1862–1940)
On 7 November 1893, on the opening night of the season and during the second act of the opera Guillaume Tell by Rossini, two Orsini bombs were thrown into the stalls of the opera house. Only one of the bombs exploded; some twenty people were killed and many more were injured. The attack was executed by anarchist Santiago Salvador and deeply shocked Barcelona, becoming a symbol of the turbulent social unrest of the time. The Liceu re-opened its doors on 18 January 1894, but the seats occupied by those killed were not used for a number of years. The second bomb was put in the Van Gogh Museum in 2007 during an exhibit on Barcelona around 1900.

In 1909, the auditorium ornamentation was renewed. Spanish neutrality during World War I allowed the Catalan textile industry to amass enormous wealth by supplying the warring parties. The 1920s were prosperous years and the Liceu became fully established as a leading opera house welcoming better singers, the orchestra leaders of the time, and companies such as Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes.

When the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed in 1931, political instability meant that the Liceu suffered a severe financial crisis which was only overcome through subsidies from the Barcelona City Council and the government of Catalonia. During the Spanish Civil War, the Liceu was nationalized and took the name the Teatre del Liceu – Teatre Nacional de Catalunya (Liceu Opera House – the National Theatre of Catalonia). The opera seasons were suspended. After the war, it was returned to its original owners in 1939.

"Silver Age" and crisis (1940–1980)
From 1940 to the 1960s, the seasons were high-quality ones. 1955, thanks to the creation of a special board, saw a historic event when for the first time since its foundation, the Bayreuth Festival was staged away from its normal venue. Performances of Parsifal, Tristan und Isolde, and Die Walküre with innovative stage sets by Wieland Wagner were enthusiastically received.

In the 1970s, an economic crisis affected the theatre and the privately based organization could not afford the increasing budgets of modern opera productions and general quality declined.

New direction and second fire (1980–1994)
The death of Joan Antoni Pàmias in 1980 revealed the need for the intervention of the official bodies if the institution was to remain a leading opera house. In 1981, the Generalitat de Catalunya, with Barcelona's City Council and the Societat del Gran Teatre del Liceu, created the Consorci del Gran Teatre del Liceu (Consortium of the Great Liceu Theater) responsible for the theatre's management.

The Deputation of Barcelona and the Spanish Ministry of Culture joined the Consortium in 1985 and 1986 respectively. The Consortium managed to quickly attract the public back to the Liceu owing to a considerable improvement in its artistic standard. This included a more complete and up-to-date perspective of the very nature of an opera performance, a great improvement in the choir and orchestra, careful casting, and attracting the interest of the public to other aspects of productions besides the leading roles alone. This approach, coupled with the new economic support and more demanding and discerning public, resulted in a high standard of production.

The seasons organized by the Consortium maintained high standards in casting, production, and public loyalty, as measured by public attendance, but all this came to a halt with a fire on 31 January 1994. The building was destroyed by a fire caused by a spark that accidentally fell on the curtain during a routine repair. At this time, Paul Hindemith's Mathis der Maler was performing at the theatre and the following opera to be performed was Puccini's Turandot.

The public and institutional response were unanimous on the need to rebuild a new opera house on the same site with improved facilities. The new Liceu is the result of a series of actions to preserve those parts of the building unaffected by the fire, the same ones as had survived the fire in 1861. The auditorium was rebuilt with the same layout, except for the roof paintings which were replaced with new artworks by Perejaume, and state-of-the-art stage technology.

To rebuild and improve the theatre, it became public. The Fundació del Gran Teatre del Liceu (Liceu Great Theater Foundation) was created and the Societat del Gran Teatre del Liceu handed over the ownership of the building to the Foundation. Some owners disagreed with the decision, which was challenged unsuccessfully in court.

Reopening (1994–present)
From 1994 until the reopening in 1999, the opera seasons in Barcelona took place in: Palau Sant Jordi arena (only some massive performances in 1994), Palau de la Música Catalana, and Teatre Victòria. The rebuilt, improved, and the expanded theatre opened on 7 October 1999, with Puccini's Turandot as previewed in 1994 before the fire. The new venue had the same traditional horseshoe-shaped auditorium as before but with greatly improved technical, rehearsal, office, and educational facilities, a new rehearsal hall, a new chamber opera and small performances hall, and much more public space. Architects for the rebuilding project were Ignasi de Solà-Morales and Xavier Fabré i Lluís Dilmé.

Surtitles, projected onto a screen above the proscenium, are used for all opera performances and some lieder concerts. The electronic libretto system provides translations (to English, Spanish, or Catalan) onto small individual monitors for most of the seats.

Important Info
Type: Opera
City: Barcelona, Spain
Starts at: 19:30
Acts: 4
Duration: 3h 15min
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