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The Metropolitan Opera – Verdi: Macbeth

0 %|Apr 13, 2008|Drama, Music

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.

Featured Crew

Gary Halvorson
Director
Giuseppe Verdi
Original Music Composer
Francesco Maria Piave
Writer
James Levine
Conductor
Adrian Noble
Production Design
Mark Thompson
Set Designer
Mark Thompson
Costume Designer
Jean Kalman
Lighting Design

Cast

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Maria Guleghina
Lady Macbeth
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Elizabeth Blancke-Biggs
Lady-in-waiting to Lady Macbeth
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Dimitri Pittas
McDuff, Thane of Fife
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Mary Jo Heath
Self - Special Guest Interviewer
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Richard Hobson
A Servant of Macbeth
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Raymond Renault
Duncan, King of Scotland
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Russell Thomas
Malcolm, Duncan's Son
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Adam Hauser Piñero
Fleance, Banquo's Son
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Keith Miller
A Murderer
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Ashley Emerson
A Bloody Child
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Anne-Carolyn Bird
A Crowned Child
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Joseph Turi
A Herald