Verdi: La forza del destino(complete opera recorded in 2021) BLU-RAY

Giuseppe Verdi travelled to St Petersburg in 1862 to premiere La forza del destino, which had been commissioned by the city's Imperial Theatre. The source material appealed to the composer's sense of tragic intensity and the ruthlessness of destiny. The local audience was accustomed to 18thcentury Italian opera as well as French grand opéra, and the resulting work is a synthesis of aristocratic drama and popular comedy. In 1869 he revised the work so that it ends in death and transfiguration. This critically admired production of the revised version is conducted by Zubin Mehta, in a new staging that was 'enriched by some brilliant artists' (Lyric Opera Journal)

'Three hours of a convincing performance, which managed to ignite reflections and questions about multiple aspects of human destiny, enriched by some brilliant artists and an open musicality.' - Lyric Opera Journal

'Saioa Hernández debuts the role of Leonora with enviable security of the high register and good management of her centre register… Annalisa Stroppa is an all-round Preziosilla…' - Classical Music Daily