The Force of Destiny Overture

There is no more dramatic opera overture than the one Verdi wrote in 1869 for La Forza del destino (The Force of Destiny) - a story of thwarted love, family vengeance and highly unlikely coincidence inexorably determined by the force of destiny. Verdi’s genius for scoring for strings is evident almost from the start, in the tragically persecuted theme introduced between two sets of deliberately paced and grimly fateful chords. A lyrical episode on flute, oboe and clarinet is interrupted by another inspiration in scoring - a radiant prayer this time rising high on violins over dull echoes of the persecuted theme on lower strings. The prayer is heard again later, this time on a searingly passionate trumpet, before the whole orchestra gets involved in the dramatically eventful coda.