Set among the blasted heaths and mists of ancient Scotland, “Macbeth” is indeed a tale of murder most foul, in which an assassin’s dagger is never far from someone’s back. The bodies pile up; King Duncan is first to meet his end, murdered in his sleep by Macbeth, followed by Banco, Macduff’s wife and his children’s murders. It is all {…}
Giuseppe Verdi is Italy’s composer. Few composers have ever attained the legendary status of the man from Busetto, who created a plethora of operas throughout his career that remain fixtures of the standard repertoire today. Born on Oct. 9 (or was it 10?), 1813, Verdi would become the textbook example of how to achieve everlasting greatness when you put in {…}
Setting the timeless tragedy of Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” within Japan’s Azuchi-Momoyama period, ranging from 1568 to 1600 A.D., director Yukio Ninagawa takes drama and staging to new levels in this utterly beautiful production. On adapting the famous work, the late Ninagawa writes: “The tradition of Japanese theater enables us to make a leap in certain ways. Normally, it is difficult to {…}
Muttering the word “Macbeth” in a theatre is worse than hollering “Free Booze” at an AA meeting. The so-called “Macbeth curse” has existed since Shakespeare’s regicidal highland fling first appeared in 1606. Legend has it that on the opening night Lady Macbeth (played as Elizabethan/Stuart traditions demanded by a teenage boy) took method acting a bit far and dropped dead. Nowadays the {…}
Director Phyllida Lloyd’s 2002 production of Verdi’s “Macbeth” doesn’t need a revival to age. Cluttered with too many literal symbols – Lady Macbeth attempting to wash blood off in the bath, Duncan clad in a glittery gold cloak that Macbeth dons when assuming the throne, the presence of a running tap onstage as the two killer spouses sing of their {…}
The Royal Opera House will present Verdi’s “Macbeth” live in cinemas on April 4, 2018. The performance will be broadcast around the globe and will feature superstar soprano Anna Netrebko as the villainous Lady Macbeth. She will be paired with Zeljko Lucic in the title role; the two performed the Macbeths together at the Metropolitan Opera in a performance that {…}
Verdi’s “Macbeth,” simply put, is one of the operas that defines his early period. The work, which had its world premiere on March 14, 1847, didn’t go as planned. Being a lover of Shakespeare, the composer put everything he could into making it one of his finest works. In its first version, it flopped and some even called into question {…}
Regina Resnik is often cited as one of the great American mezzos of the 20th century. Born on August 30, she managed an international career that spanned a whopping five decades and became a house favorite with such companies as La Scala, the Paris Opera, the Royal Opera, the Vienna State Opera, and of course, the Metropolitan Opera, where she {…}
Plácido Domingo has outpaced anyone’s expectations going on to perform more roles than anyone in the history of opera. Moreover, his work as a baritone has also proved to go beyond what all thought was possible. In 2015, Domingo made his debut as Macbeth, a role which is considered among the most difficult in the Verdi baritone canon and triumphed. {…}
For Luca Salsi, there is no composer better than Verdi. No one. Salsi, the Italian baritone, who is slated to sing the role of Amonasro at the Salzburg Festival starting in early August, has repeatedly professed that no composer in the history of Italian opera was able to fuse music and text with the same level of conviction and depth. {…}
Maestro Gianandrea Noseda has canceled performances at the Teatro Regio Torino due to a herniated disc that he recently suffered. He was conducting Verdi’s “Macbeth,” which he will, unfortunately, hand over to conductor Giulio Laguzzi, who was recommended by Noseda to finish out the run. “Maestro Noseda suffers from low back sciatalgica syndrome of lumbar disc herniation that occurred yesterday {…}
