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Macbeth (opera)
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Macbeth is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi, with an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave and additions by Andrea Maffei, based on Shakespeare's play of the same name.
eppe Verdi started writing music for Macbeth in 1846-47. Piave's text was based on a prose translation by Carlo Rusconi that had been published in Turin in 1838. Verdi did not encounter Shakespeare's original work until after the first performance of the opera at the Teatro della Pergola in Florence on March 14, 1847.
Nearly 20 years later, Verdi was asked to provide additional music for a production at the Théâtre Lyrique (Théâtre-Lyrique Impérial du Châtelet) in Paris, and this gave him an opportunity to revise the entire opera, in particular music for Macbeth and Lady Macbeth in Acts 1 and 3 and adding a ballet.
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Encyclopedia
Macbeth is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi, with an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave and additions by Andrea Maffei, based on Shakespeare's play of the same name.
Background
Giuseppe Verdi started writing music for Macbeth in 1846-47. Piave's text was based on a prose translation by Carlo Rusconi that had been published in Turin in 1838. Verdi did not encounter Shakespeare's original work until after the first performance of the opera at the Teatro della Pergola in Florence on March 14, 1847.
Nearly 20 years later, Verdi was asked to provide additional music for a production at the Théâtre Lyrique (Théâtre-Lyrique Impérial du Châtelet) in Paris, and this gave him an opportunity to revise the entire opera, in particular music for Macbeth and Lady Macbeth in Acts 1 and 3 and adding a ballet. This new version was first performed on April 21, 1865 and remains the preferred version for modern performances.
Verdi's version follows Shakespeare's play quite closely, but with some interesting changes: Instead of using three witches as in the play, there is a large female chorus of witches, singing in three part harmony. The last act begins with an assembly of refugees on the English border, and, in the revised version, ends with a chorus of bards celebrating victory over the tyrant, possibly as a compliment to Shakespeare himself.
There are several recordings of Macbeth, although the opera is not considered as important as Verdi's two other works based on Shakespeare - Otello and Falstaff. Some recordings and some performances today incorporate both Macbeth's final aria before he dies (from the original version) and the revised version's ending with the soldiers' chorus.
Performance history
After the 1865 premiere, which was followed by only 13 more performances, the opera generally fell from popularity. However, the 1847 version was first given in the US in April 1850 in New York and in October 1860 in Manchester, England. Paris saw the revised version in April 1865, but by about 1900 it was rarely performed until after World War II. The US premiere of the revised version did not take place until 24 October 1941 in New York.
Two important European production in Berlin in the 1930s and at Glynebourne in 1938 (the UK premiere of the revised version) and 1939 were notable, but it was not until 1959 that it appeared on the Metropolitan Opera's roster for the first time. (It has been given 91 performances between 1959 and the 2008 revival). Similarly, the first presentations at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, with Tito Gobbi and then others in the title role, took place only in 1960.
In recent times,it has appeared in the repertories of the Washington National Opera (2007) and the San Francisco Opera (Nov/Dec 2007) and many other opera houses worldwide, but almost all productions stage the revised version with the exception of both the original and the revised versions which were presented in 2003 as part of the Sarasota Opera's "Verdi Cycle" of all the composer's operas in their different versions.
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast,
14 March 1847
(Conductor: - ) | Revised version
Premiere Cast,
19 April 1865
(Conductor: - ) |
|---|
| Macbeth | baritone | Felice Varesi | Ismael | | Lady Macbeth | soprano | Marianna Barbieri-Nini | Rey-Balla | | Banquo | bass | Nicola Benedetti | Bilis Petit | | Macduff | tenor | Angelo Brunacci | Montjauze | | Lady-in-waiting | mezzo-soprano | Faustina Piombanti | Mairot | | Malcolm | tenor | Francesco Rossi | Huet | | Doctor | bass | Giuseppe Romanelli | Guyot | | Servant to Macbeth | bass | | | | Herald | bass | | | | Assassin | bass | Giuseppe Bertini | Caillot | | Three apparitions | 2 sopranos and 1 bass | | | | Duncano (Duncan), King of Scotland | Silent | | | | Fleanzio (Fleance) | Silent | | | | Witches, messengers, nobles, attendants, refugees - chorus |
Synopsis
Note: there are several differences between the 1847 and the 1865 versions which are noted below in indented text in brackets
- Place: Scotland
- Time: 11th century
Act 1
Scene 1: A heath
Groups of witches gather in a wood beside a battlefield. The victorious generals Macbeth and Banquo enter. The witches hail Macbeth as Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor, and king "hereafter." Banquo is greeted as the founder of a great line of future kings. The witches vanish, and messengers from the king appear naming Macbeth Thane of Cawdor.
Scene 2: Macbeth's castle
Lady Macbeth reads a letter from her husband telling of the encounter with the witches. She is determined to propel Macbeth to the throne.
- [Revised version only: Vieni! t'affretta! / "Come! Hurry!"].
Lady Macbeth is advised that King Duncan will stay in the castle that night; she is determinied to see him killed (Or tutti, sorgete / "Arise now, all you ministers of hell"). When Macbeth returns she urges him to take the opportunity to kill the King. The King and the nobles arrive and Macbeth is emboldened to carry out the murder (Mi si affaccia un pugnal? / "Is this a dagger which I see before me?"), but afterwards is filled with horror. Disgusted at his cowardice, Lady Macbeth completes the crime, incriminating the sleeping guards by smearing them with Duncan's blood and planting on them Macbeth's dagger. The murder is discovered by Macduff. A chorus calls on God to avenge the killing (Schiudi, inferno, . . / "Open wide thy gaping maw, O Hell").
Act 2
Scene 1: A room in the castle
Macbeth is now king, but disturbed by the prophecy that Banquo, not he, will found a great royal line. To prevent this he tells his wife that he will have both Banquo and his son murdered as they come to a banquet.
- [Revised version only: In her aria, La luce langue / "The light fades", Lady Macbeth exults in the powers of darkness]
Scene 2: Outside the castle
A gang of murderers lie in wait. Banquo is apprehensive (Come dal ciel precipita / "O, how the darkness falls from heaven"). He is caught, but enables his son Fleanzio to escape.
Scene 3: A dining hall in the castle
Macbeth receives the guests and Lady Macbeth sings a brindisi (Si colmi il calice / "Fill up the cup"). The assassination is reported to Macbeth, but when he returns to the table the ghost of Banquo is sitting in his place. Macbeth raves at the ghost and the horrified guests believe he has gone mad. The banquet ends abruptly with their hurried, frightened departure.
Act 3
The witches' cave
The witches gather around a cauldron in a dark cave. Macbeth enters and they conjure up three apparitions for him. The first advises him to beware of Macduff. The second tells him that he cannot be harmed by a man 'born of woman'. The third that he cannot be conquered till Birnam Wood marches against him. (Macbeth: O lieto augurio / "O, happy augury! No wood has ever moved by magic power")
Macbeth is then shown the ghost of Banquo and his descendants, eight future Kings of Scotland, verifying the original prophecy. (Macbeth: Fuggi regal fantasima / "Begone, royal phantom that reminds me of Banquo"). He collapses and regains consciousness in the castle. Macbeth and his wife resolve to extirpate the families of Macduff and Banquo (Ora di morte e di vendetta / "Hour of death and of vengeance").
Act 4
Scene 1: Near the border between England and Scotland
A chorus of Scottish refugees (Patria oppressa / "Down-trodden country") stand near the English border. In the distance lies Birnam Wood. Macduff is determined to avenge the deaths of his wife and children at the hands of the tyrant (Ah, la paterna mano / "Ah, the paternal hand"). He is joined by Malcolm, the son of King Duncan, and the English army. Malcolm orders each soldier to cut a branch from a tree in Birnam Wood and carry it as they attack Macbeth's army. They are determined to liberate Scotland from tyranny (La patria tradita / "Our country betrayed").
Scene 2: Macbeth's castle
A doctor and a servant observe the Queen as she walks in her sleep, wringing her hands and attempting to clean them of blood (Una macchia è qui tuttora! / "Yet here's a spot").
Scene 3: The battlefield
Macbeth has learned that an army is advancing against him but is reassured by remembering the words of the apparitions (Pietà, rispetto, amore / "Compassion, honour, love"). He receives the news of the Queen's death with indifference. Rallying his troops he learns that Birnam Wood has indeed come to his castle. Battle is joined.
- [Ending of the original version:] Macduff pursues and fights Macbeth who falls. He tells Macbeth that he was not "born of woman" but "ripped" from his mother's womb. Fighting continues. Mortally wounded, Macbeth, in a final aria - Mal per me che m'affidai / "Trusting in the prophesies of Hell" - proclaims that trusting in the prophesies of hell caused his downfall. He dies on stage, while Macduff's men proclaim Macduff to be the new King.
Macduff pursues and fights Macbeth who falls wounded. He tells Macbeth that he was not "born of woman" but "ripped" from his mother's womb. Macbeth responds in anguish (Cielo! / "Heaven") and the two continue fighting, then disappear from view. Macduff returns indicating to his men that he has killed Macbeth. The scene ends with a hymn to victory sung by bards, soldiers, and Scottish women (Salva, o re! / "Hail, oh King!).
Adapted and expanded from the synopsis by Simon Holledge which was first published on Opera japonica and appears here by permission.
Selected recordings
1847 Original version
1865 Revised version
| Year | Cast
(Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, Banquo, Macduff) | Conductor,
Opera House and Orchestra | Label |
|---|
| 1952 | Enzo Mascherini,
Maria Callas,
Gino Penno,
Italo Tajo | Victor de Sabata
Teatro alla Scala Chorus and Orchestra | Audio CD: EMI
Cat: | | 1959 | Leonard Warren,
Leonie Rysanek,
Carlo Bergonzi,
Jerome Hines | Erich Leinsdorf
Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra | Audio CD: RCA
Cat: | | 1964 | Giuseppe Taddei,
Birgit Nilsson,
Bruno Prevedi,
Giovanni Foiani | Thomas Schippers,
Coro e Orchestra dell' Accademia di Santa Cecilia | Audio CD: Decca
Cat: | | 1971 | Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau,
Elena Souliotis,
Luciano Pavarotti,
Nicolai Ghiaurov | Lamberto Gardelli,
London Symphony Orchestra and Ambrosian Opera Chorus | Audio CD: Decca
Cat: | | 1976 | Piero Cappuccilli,
Shirley Verrett,
Placido Domingo,
Nicolai Ghiaurov | Claudio Abbado,
Teatro alla Scala Chorus and Orchestra | Audio CD: Deutsche Grammophon
Cat: | | 1976 | Sherrill Milnes,
Fiorenza Cossotto,
José Carreras,
Ruggero Raimondi | Riccardo Muti,
New Philharmonia Orchestra and Ambrosian Opera Chorus | Audio CD: EMI
Cat: | | 2008 | Zeljko Lucic,
Maria Guleghina,
John Relyea,
Dimitri Pittas
| James Levine,
Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Chorus, and Ballet | DVD : EMI Classics
Cat: 5099920630492 |
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