Composed 1862; Duration: 8 minutes

First BPO Performance: November 29 & December 1, 1953 (Efrem Kurtz, conductor)
 
Last BPO Performance: May 4-5, 2018 (JoAnn Falletta, conductor)

In the 1860s, Saint Petersburg’s Bolshoi Theatre sought to remedy Russia’s bleak opera scene by hiring Italy’s biggest name. For the enormous commission, Verdi chose to work with his librettist Francesco Maria Piave to adapt the 1835 Spanish drama, Don Álvaro o la fuerza del sino (which itself was adapted from Friedrich Schiller’s 1799 play, Wallenstein’s Camp) for a blood and guts story of love, death, and revenge.

A swarm of foreboding brass announces the opening with six fatalistic Es. The overture covers as much ground as the opera with romantic melodies and violent brawls. Leonora is in love with Don Alvaro, but her father disapproves and tries to stop the couple from eloping. He is killed in the scuffle, and Leonora’s brother, Don Carlo, vows vengeance. Don Carlo and Don Alvaro, both in the army, become friends until their identities are uncovered, leading to a final, deadly struggle.