Germany Verdi, La forza del destino: Soloists, Opernchor des Oldenburgischen Staatstheaters, Oldenburgisches Staatsorchester / Vito Cristofaro (conductor). Oldenburgisches Staatstheater, 9.10.2026. (DM-D)
This production of La forza del destino packed a punch on three accounts. First of all, it tackled the complicated plot head-on, seeking to enhance the storytelling. Director Joan Anton Rechi created clever scene transitions, often achieved by having either Leonora or Preziosilla as silent, unseen characters on the stage, guiding, manipulating or quietly observing the events.
Secondly, Markus Erik Meyer’s set was most striking (he was also responsible for the timeless costumes). It consisted of a set of frames of irregularly angled sides, with different levels descending from the back of the stage to the front. Sometimes the steps were invisible altogether, certainly their depth was invisible, and when the singers had to sit down on a higher step to reach the step below, the impact was always that of surprise, of startling the spectators’ alertness. The frames were repeated at irregular distances and receding height towards the back of the stage, each frame highlighted in part by a thin LED light. The frames together created a vanishing point perspective. At times, characters appeared from the sides, within those frames but further back, creating a jarring effect of the vanishing point perspective with respect to the bodies of the singers in relation to the smaller frames. Ghost-like, Leonora’s father appeared, and Preziosilla was a frequent silent witness or manipulator of scenes in which this character is not part of the libretto. The frames themselves, highlighted by the LED lights, suggested different angles of staircases – bringing to mind the staircase of Hitchcock’s film Vertigo.
Thirdly, the music foregrounded the emotional turmoil of the characters’ lives under the relentless forces of destiny. Vito Cristofaro coaxed both quiet and raucous sounds from the orchestra that were neither lost nor overpowering. He also ensured that emotions came across musically as deeply felt and never sentimental. Under the direction of Thomas Bönisch and Gyuseong Lee, the theatre’s chorus and extra chorus contributed a strong enhancement of the opera’s emotional universe.
Visiting artist Adréana Kraschewski had sung in Oldenburg before, including Giulietta in Les contes d’Hoffmann, (see review here) and Agathe in Der Freischütz (see review here), and her voice has grown and developed to be ready for the demanding part of Donna Leonora. The voice sounded very pleasant throughout, and Kraschewski was at ease across registers and volume. Anna Dowsley sang Preziosilla with a precise and particularly lush and voluptuous legato. Taylor Haines sounded fresh as Curra.
Jason Kim added another leading tenor role to his repertoire with Don Alvaro. His voice was full-bodied and sturdy; Kim sang with sweetness of tone and ardently presented emotions, rising with ease to the many high exposed notes, which were open and free. Aksel Daveyan, a member of the resident Oldenburg company with an increasing portfolio of international appearances, sang Don Carlo with a stylish, burnished, golden baritone, differentiating well between the emotions the character goes through in quick succession. Arthur Bruce’s lighter voice was a good fit for his role as Melitone, while Seungweon Lee and Irakli Atanelishvili used their sonorous bass voices to great effect for moving portrayals of the angry and dying Marchese di Calatrava and the noble Padre Guardiano. Seumas Begg provided comic relief as Trabuco.
Daniel Meyer-Dinkgräfe
Featured Image: Irakli Atanelishvili (Marchese di Calatrava), Jason Kim (Don Alvaro), Maaike Poorthuis (Curra) and Adréana Kraschewski (Leonora di Vargas) © Stephan Walzl
Production:
Director – Joan Anton Rechi
Set and Costumes – Markus Erik Meyer
Lighting – Steff Flächsenhaar
Fencing coordination – Robert Schnöll
Chorus directors – Thomas Bönisch, Gyuseong Lee
Dramaturgy – Antje Müller, Anna Neudert
Cast:
Donna Leonora – Adréana Kraschewski
Preziosilla – Anna Dowsley
Don Alvaro – Jason Kim
Don Carlo di Vargas – Aksel Daveyan
Fra Melitone – Arthur Bruce
Trabuco – Seumas Begg
Padre Guardiano – Seungweon Lee
Il Marchese di Calatrava – Irakli Atanelishvili
Curra – Taylor Haines
Alcaldo – Seung Jin Park
Chirurgo – Stephen K. Foster