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Stiffelio shows Giuseppe Verdi on the brink of greatness (his next opera would be Rigoletto) but falling short of the full recognition he deserves. The opera is not problem-free, but it is, musically and dramatically, better than its reputation, and only recently has it begun to be fully appreciated. This fine production has helped, as has a Metropolitan Opera telecast with Placido Domingo in the title role. In this 1993 Covent Garden production, the setting was shifted from Europe to America, where a duel with sabers seems slightly out of place. José Carreras generates intense emotion as a minister whose wife (Catherine Malfitano) has been unfaithful. "Forgiveness is easy," he reflects, "for a heart that has not been wounded." Can he fulfill his Christian duty and forgive her? The conflict of instinct and principle is prime operatic material. But in 19th- century Italy, the censors and the public were not ready for an opera about a married clergyman. --Joe McLellan
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