Metropolitan Opera Archives

A visit to "La Forza del Destino" on November 24 left me (as I hope fervently it left Mr. Gentele) with a strong desire to see a fresh Metropolitan production of the flawed but magnificently viable opera. Herbert Graf's staging and Eugene Berman's designs were new in 1952 and now look no younger than their years. Nor has time eased the dismaying impact of the gross mutilations inflicted upon Verdi and Piave by the edition employed. (The curtain rises directly on the Calatrava household; the overture is used as an entr'acte joining the first scene to Leonora's arrival at the monastery; the Inn at Hornachuelos is entirely eliminated; and so on).

There was generally acceptable singing from an experienced cast and something more than that from the hero and heroine. Robert Merrill (Carlo), Ezio Flagello (Father Guardian) and Fernando Corena (Melitone) delivered their customary quality. Martina Arroyo, despite some rudimentary acting, filled the house with a generous warmth of tone, making much of "La Vergine degli angeli" and "Pace, pace" as well as her duets with Alvaro and Father Guardian. But the great good news was Placido Domingo's Alvaro, a shining, bold and consummately phrased projection of the part; nothing better has been heard here for a long time. The conductor was Michelangelo Veltri, new to the house this season. His way with the score was firm, vigorous but not always entirely sensitive.

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