La forza del destino
also The Force of Destiny
opera · opera in quattro atti
Composer Giuseppe Verdi
Librettist Francesco Maria Piave
Synopsis
Donna Leonora, daughter of the Marchese di Calatrava, loves Don Alvaro, a nobleman of Inca descent living in Seville, and her father will not have him. As the lovers prepare to elope, the Marchese surprises them; Alvaro throws down his pistol, it goes off, and the dying Marchese curses his daughter as the lovers flee.
Versions
Key facts
- Premiere
- 10 November 1862, Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre, Saint Petersburg
- Acts
- 4
- Language
- Italian (it)
- Setting
- Spain and Italy, towards the middle of the eighteenth century.
What's different
The original, written for the Imperial Italian opera in St Petersburg. It opens with a brief prelude, and ends with Alvaro throwing himself from a cliff.
Dramatis personae
| Role | Voice | Created by |
|---|---|---|
| Il Marchese di Calatrava A Spanish nobleman, father of Leonora and Carlo. | bass | Meo |
| Donna Leonora The Marchese's daughter. | soprano | Caroline Barbot |
| Don Carlo di Vargas The Marchese's son. | baritone | Francesco Graziani |
| Don Alvaro Leonora's lover. | tenor | Enrico Tamberlik |
| Preziosilla A young gypsy. | mezzo-soprano | Constance Nantier-Didiée |
| Il Padre Guardiano A Franciscan. | bass | Gian-Francesco Angelini |
| Fra Melitone A Franciscan. | baritone | Achille De Bassini |
| Curra Leonora's maid. | mezzo-soprano | Lagramanti |
| Un alcade A mayor. | bass | Ignazio Marini |
| Mastro Trabuco A muleteer, later a pedlar. | tenor | Geremia Bettini |
| Un chirurgo A Spanish army surgeon. | tenor | Alessandro Polonini |
Key facts
- Premiere
- 27 February 1869, Teatro alla Scala, Milan
- Acts
- 4
- Language
- Italian (it)
- Setting
- Spain and Italy, towards the middle of the eighteenth century.
What's different
Verdi's revision for the Teatro alla Scala, with new text by Antonio Ghislanzoni. It replaces the prelude with a full overture, adds a final scene to the third act after the duel between Carlo and Alvaro, and gives the opera a new ending in which Alvaro lives. Primary here because it has become the standard performing version.
Reviser Antonio Ghislanzoni
Dramatis personae
| Role | Voice | Created by |
|---|---|---|
| Il Marchese di Calatrava A Spanish nobleman, father of Leonora and Carlo. | bass | Giuseppe Vecchi |
| Donna Leonora The Marchese's daughter. | soprano | Teresa Stolz |
| Don Carlo di Vargas The Marchese's son. | baritone | Luigi Colonnese |
| Don Alvaro Leonora's lover. | tenor | Mario Tiberini |
| Preziosilla A young gypsy. | mezzo-soprano | Ida Benza |
| Il Padre Guardiano A Franciscan. | bass | François-Marcel Junca |
| Fra Melitone A Franciscan. | baritone | Giacomo Rota |
| Curra Leonora's maid. | mezzo-soprano | Ester Neri |
| Un alcade A mayor. | bass | Luigi Alessandrini |
| Mastro Trabuco A muleteer, later a pedlar. | tenor | Antonio Tasso |
| Un chirurgo A Spanish army surgeon. | tenor | Vincenzo Paraboschi |
Source
- Don Álvaro o la fuerza del sino by Ángel de Saavedra (1835)
- Wallensteins Lager by Friedrich Schiller (1798)
Written from
- Budden, J. (1979) The operas of Verdi. Volume 2: From Il trovatore to La forza del destino. New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 425-521.
- Wikipedia (2026) La forza del destino. (Accessed: 28 September 2026). The English article.
- Libretti d'opera (n.d.) La forza del destino. (Accessed: 28 September 2026).
- Piave, F. M. (1869) La forza del destino: opera in quattro atti. Milan: Ricordi. (Accessed: 28 September 2026).
- Casaglia, G. (n.d.) '27 Febbraio 1869', in L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia. (Accessed: 28 September 2026).
- Wikipedia (2026) La forza del destino. (Accessed: 28 September 2026). The Italian article.