An accidental pistol shot sets into motion the wheels of fate: Just as they are attempting to elope, Leonora and Alvaro are caught by Leonora’s father, who, seconds later, is struck by a misfired bullet and dies cursing his daughter. Fleeing in panic, the lovers become separated and change their identities. Leonora’s brother Carlo, having sworn bloody revenge, is hot on their heels. In »La forza del destino» from 1862, Verdi created a work that expands on his earlier popular trilogy »Rigoletto«, »Il trovatore« and »La traviata« by means of its multi-layered plot and a richly diverse score featuring satirical sermons, dazzling choral tableaux as well as passionate duets and intimate arias. In his production for the Semperoper Dresden, director Keith Warner paints a visually arresting and spectacular panorama of a turbulent society, in which the characters Leonora, Alvaro and Carlo are hopelessly caught up in a fateful web of their own searing emotions.