The Metropolitan Opera – Verdi: Macbeth
Verdi’s admiration for Shakespeare led to such masterpieces as Othello and Falstaff, and if the earlier Macbeth isn’t on their exalted level it’s still a powerfully dramatic opera that hews closely to the original’s story line. The MET’s production retains the dark aura of the opera while updating it to a vaguely post-modern context. So the witches are bag ladies in various stages of decrepitude, with children in tow. The Banquet Scene features lowered chandeliers, a plethora of chairs, and a slew of extras dressed in tuxedos and party gowns. Macbeth sports a leather coat, the soldiers are in drab brown uniforms and seem to have fingers on their triggers even when they’re supposed to be in non-threatening situations. Director Adrian Noble also has Lady Macbeth do an inordinate amount of writhing around and singing from a lying-down position, adding to the feeling that a less interventionist directorial hand might have generated more impact.
Cast
Željko Lučić
as Macbeth
John Relyea
as Banquo
Maria Guleghina
as Lady Macbeth
Elizabeth Blancke-Biggs
as Lady-in-waiting to Lady Macbeth
Dimitri Pittas
as McDuff, Thane of Fife
Mary Jo Heath
as Self - Special Guest Interviewer
Richard Hobson
as A Servant of Macbeth
Raymond Renault
as Duncan, King of Scotland
Russell Thomas
as Malcolm, Duncan's Son
Adam Hauser Piñero
as Fleance, Banquo's Son
