Performed by The Toledo Symphony on September 19, 2026 at The Peristyle

Overture to La forza del destino 
Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901) 

Giuseppe Verdi was an incredibly successful composer, best known for opera and other contributions to vocal music. Despite his general success, he still faced challenges in his career.  

In the late 1850s, Verdi exhausted himself with preparations for his opera Un ballo in maschera (A Masked Ball), and following its production in 1859, decided to take a break from composing. This break was short-lived, however, as he almost immediately received – and accepted – a commission for Russia’s Imperial Theater in St. Petersburg. This commission became La forza del destino (The Force of Destiny). The story was based on an 1835 Spanish play by Ángel de Saavedra called Don Álvaro o la fuerza del sino. 

Though the premiere of this new opera was greeted with warmth, Verdi was unhappy with this first version of it and spent the next few years revising it even as it was being performed across Europe. He even had the libretto, originally written by Francesco Maria Piave, edited by Antonio Ghislanzoni, who would later work with Verdi on Aida. The revised version of La forza del destino premiered at La Scala in 1869.  

According to annotator Orrin Howard, the overture gives us a preview of “the intensity of Verdi’s melodramatics [in its] seething orchestral introduction.” It opens with three sinister brass chords, which represent the heaviness of fate. These chords are then repeated, illustrating the inescapable nature of one’s fate. Most of the overture is stormy and agitated, but includes more lyrical moments. Verdi does an excellent job of weaving in the thematic material from later in the opera that references the main characters, which sometimes lends a troubling undertone to the lighter moments. 

The overture to La forza del destino is scored for flute and piccolo, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, two harps, and strings.  

“Rivolgete a lui lo sguardo,” K. 584  
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791)

One of the most famous composers in all of Western music, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote numerous orchestral and instrumental pieces as well as some of the best and most beloved opera repertoire. He composed his first opera at the age of 11, but his most often performed works are the three collaborations with librettist Lorenzo da Ponte. These are The Marriage of Figaro (1786), Don Giovanni (1787), and Così fan tutte (1790). These three share an unprecedented portrayal of the reality and humanity of their characters.  

Rivolgete a lui lo sguardo was intended to be part of Così fan tutte, but was replaced with a shorter number just before the premiere. The story follows two couples, Guglielmo and Fiordiligi alongside Ferrando and Dorabella, as the men test their partners’ fidelity by pretending to be called away to war and then disguising themselves as Albanians and attempting to court each other’s fiancées. In this aria, Guglielmo tests Dorabella with flattery and pledges of love and comfort in the absence of Ferrando. 

The opera eventually ends happily on the surface but does not resolve the deeper emotional issues.  

“Largo al factotum” from Il Barbierie di Siviglia 
Gioachino Rossini (1792–1868) 

The name of Italian composer Gioachino Rossini is synonymous with opera, and he is distinguished as the best and most often performed composer in the tradition of opera buffa. 

Rossini’s Il Barbierie di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), with a libretto by Cesare Sterbini, premiered in Rome in 1816. The story is based on the play by Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais and was initially conceived as an opera comique in 1722. It follows the exploits of Figaro, who uses his wits and skills to aid Count Almaviva win the heart of the lovely Rosina. Rosina lives under the guardianship of the silly and self-important Dr. Bartolo, who intends to marry Rosina himself and keep her money. The Count wants Rosina to love him for himself, and not for his wealth, so he approaches her in disguise, with Figaro’s help. Drama and absurdity ensue, and everything ends happily as it must. 

In the Largo al factotum, Figaro sings about being in incredibly high demand by everyone in the city, who all want his help with various things.  

Intermezzo from Cavalleria rusticana 
Pietro Mascagni (1863–1945) 

Pietro Mascagni briefly attended the Milan Conservatory, where he roomed with his fellow composer Puccini, but then dropped out before graduating so he could travel and conduct on a freelance basis. In 1884, he attended and was inspired by Giovanni Verga’s play Cavalleria rusticana (Country Chivalry) and saw in it his chance to advance as a composer. 

Mascagni commissioned his childhood friend, poet Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti, to write the libretto, asking that he please do it as quickly as possible. Targioni-Tozzetti then brought on Guido Menasci to help him, and the two sent Mascagni the libretto in pieces. Mascagni worked diligently on the opera, and when in 1888 the libretto was complete, the opera was finished within six months.  

Mascagni entered Cavalleria rusticana in a competition for short operas and won. In a letter to his father, he wrote, “It was a colossal success like nobody has ever seen ... My position is totally changed.” Cavalleria rusticana premiered in Rome in the spring of 1890.  

Cavalleria rusticana is set in a Sicilian village on Easter Sunday. A peasant named Turiddu has recently returned from a stint in the army to find that his intended bride, Lola, has married another man, Alfio, in his absence. Turiddu then seduces a girl named Santuzza, but he cannot forget Lola and soon leaves Santuzza to pursue his first lover. He successfully lures Lola into an affair. Santuzza is heartbroken and begs Turiddu to return to her, and when he doesn’t, she tells Alfio about Lola’s unfaithfulness.  

At this point in the story, the village square empties and the orchestra performs the intermezzo – the melody of which is based on a hymn heard earlier from within the church in conclusion of the Easter services. After the intermezzo, Turiddu and Lola leave the church together. He brings her to his mother for safekeeping, then exits the stage to speak with Alfio, who kills him offstage.  

“Cruda funesta smania” from Lucia di Lammermoor 
Gaetano Donizetti (1797–1848) 

Gaetano Donizetti’s career reached new heights with his opera Lucia di Lammermoor, composed in 1835, with a libretto by Salvadore Cammarano based loosely on Walter Scott’s 1819 novel, The Bride of Lammermoor. The two main composers in the landscape of Italian opera were no longer writing new music (Rossini had by now retired and Bellini had passed away), and demand was high for new work. Europe was also very taken with Scottish history, culture, and folklore, having romanticized the continuous bloody conflicts happening in Scotland.  

Lucia di Lammermoor is a tragic opera in three acts. It follows Lucy Ashton (Lucia), an emotionally fraught woman trapped by a feud between her family and a neighboring family called the Ravenswoods. The opera is set in the Lammermuir Hills in seventeenth-century Scotland.  

Lucia’s brother, Enrico Ashton, is concerned that his family’s fortunes are in jeopardy. He decides to force his sister to marry a man named Arturo Bucklaw. But Lucia is in love with Edgardo Ravenswood. Enrico becomes enraged when he learns that his sister has been secretly trysting with his enemy and vows revenge.  

The aria Cruda funesta (Cruel, fateful madness) is an operatic cavatina filled with tension and aggression.  

“Morte de Rodrigo” from Don Carlo 
Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901) 

Verdi’s Don Carlo has a libretto by Joseph Méry and Camille du Locle, and is based on a play by Friedrich Schiller. It is set against the backdrop of the Spanish Inquisition and follows Prince Don Carlo, who loves Elisabeth of Valois of France). Sadly, she chooses to marry his father, King Philip II of Spain to secure peace between their two countries. Don Carlo and his friend Rodrigo (the only fully fictional character in the story) fight to free Flanders from Spanish rule, but their plans are betrayed and Rodrigo sacrifices himself to save Carlo.  

Don Carlo is centered on family drama, politics, and forbidden love. And though every character except Rodrigo is a historical person, Schiller took liberties with history and fabricated relationships to heighten the drama. There is no indication in historical records, for example,  that Queen Elizabeth (the correct spelling of her name in real life) was unhappy with her husband or that the prince was in love with his stepmother. Prince Carlos was, however, overlooked and disrespected by his father, who later imprisoned him to keep him out of the way. He died in prison.  

In his opera, Verdi uses melodies to represent and recall certain scenes or feelings, and each character has a distinct voice. Morte di Rodrigo is in Act IV. Don Carlo and Rodrigo’s plans to incite rebellion in Flanders has been discovered. As Rodrigo dies to save Don Carlo from the wrath of the Inquisition and the king, he tells Don Carlo that Queen Elisabeth is waiting for him to join her, and he begs him to continue reforming Spain and saving Flanders. He then assures Don Carlo that he is at peace with his death because he sees Don Carlo as the future of Spain. 

“Sogno,” “L’ultimo bacio,” and “Serenata” 
Francesco Paolo Tosti (1846–1916) 

Francesco Paolo Tosti is best known for his salon songs as well as for being the singing master of the British royal family after emigrating to England. 

His Sogno (Dream) is a sweet, romantic art song, both lyrical and intimate. Its text is by Lorenzo Stecchetti, also known as Olindo Guerrini. In it, the narrator (or dreamer) describes a dream in which a loved one kneels as if praying, pleading for mercy. The dreamer struggles with intense emotions until the kneeling beloved touches the dreamer’s face and the dreamer awakens.  

L’ultimo bacio (The Last Kiss) is also an art song, with text by the poet Emilio Praga. In L’ultimo bacio, the narrator speaks to a former lover of their continued and lasting love despite broken promises. The narrator expresses great sadness after a final goodbye, while reminiscing on the comfort taken from their last kiss, which warms his heart still.  

Tosti’s La Serenata uses text by librettist Giovanni Alfredo Cesareo. In it, a lover wished for his serenade to make its way to the window of his sleeping beloved. The lover sings quietly into the night, describing her sweet smile and gentle rest.   

Pines of Rome 
Ottorino Resphigi (1879–1936) 

Throughout history, both nature and art have been great sources of inspiration for composers, and Ottorino Respighi was no exception. He composed his famous Fontane di Roma in 1915–1916 and followed it with the even more famous Pini di Roma (1923–1924) and Feste Romane (1928).  

Respighi was an excellent musician and performed as a violist for the Imperial Opera in St. Petersburg. Living in Russia gave him the opportunity to study composition with Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, a master of color and orchestration. Stylistically, Respighi is fairly conservative and was part of a group of composers called La Lega dei Cinque (League of Five), a reference to Russia’s “Mighty Handful” from decades before. The League of Five worked toward renewing Italian music, trying to bring it back from its current state, which they felt was, “with very few exceptions, depressed and circumscribed by commercialism and philistinism.” In 1932, Respighi signed a statement alongside his colleagues criticizing experimental and/or progressive composers such as Arnold Schoenberg and Igor Stravinsky. Respighi did not dislike all contemporary composers, however, and was very fond of Richard Strauss’s tone poems.  

Respighi’s Pines of Rome is an orchestral tone poem based on the landmarks and festivals of Rome, with nature as its main focus. He explained, “[the primary inspiration for Pines of Rome is] the centuries-old trees which so characteristically dominate the Roman landscape [and had] become witnesses to the principal events in Roman life.”  

Pines of Rome has four movements titled after landmarks. In his own program notes, Respighi wrote: “The Pines of the Villa Borghese (Allegretto vivace); Children are at play in the pine groves of the Villa Borghese, dancing the Italian equivalent of ‘Ring around a Rosy.’ They mimic marching soldiers and battles. They twitter and shriek like swallows at evening, coming and going in swarms. Suddenly the scene changes.  

“The Pines Near a Catacomb (Lento): We see the shadows of the pines, which overhang the entrance of a catacomb. From the depths rises a chant, which echoes solemnly, like a hymn, and is then mysteriously silenced.  

“The Pines of the Janiculum (Lento): There is a thrill in the air. The full moon reveals the profile of the pines of Gianicolo’s Hill. A nightingale sings.  

“The Pines of the Appian Way (Tempo di Marcia): Misty dawn on the Appian Way. The tragic country is guarded by solitary pines. Indistinctly, incessantly, the rhythm of unending steps. The poet has a fantastic vision of past glories. Trumpets blare, and the army of the Consul bursts forth in the grandeur of a newly risen sun toward the Sacred Way, mounting in triumph the Capitoline Hill.” 

Respighi’s Pines of Rome was premiered in 1924, and is scored for three flutes, three oboes, three clarinets, three bassoons, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, six offstage brass, timpani, percussion, harp, keyboard, gramophone (playing a recording of a nightingale), and strings.