Director, Louisa Proske; Set Designer, Jon Bausor; Costume Designer, Montana Levi Blanco; Lighting Designer, Adam Silverman. Conductor, Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Lady Macbeth, Lise Davidsen; Macduff, Freddie De Tommaso; Macbeth, Quinn Kelsey ; Banquo, Ryan Speedo Green
I have never seen this opera live, or indeed heard a note of it before buying Lise Davidsen’s recent Verdi recital recording, which has 4 arias from Macbeth. Partly because it is probably the only time I will ever encounter the work, I opted to go to this Met screening in Sheffield – cheaper than paying for a live opera house ticket………………..My history with Verdi, as recorded in this blog before, has always been chequered – I’ve loved Otello and Falstaff since my teenage years, and got to know and appreciate Traviata, Rigoletto and Don Carlos more recently. The Sicilian Vespers, Simon Boccanegra and the Force of Destiny, I’ve found a bore; Nabucco I enjoyed for its youthful dynamism, but wouldn’t want to actively return to see it, and Trovatore I haven’t heard yet in recent years
Against expectations I enjoyed this performance of Macbeth very much. Though written quite early in Verdi’s career, it has the same punch and energy as some of his more mature pieces like Rigoletto, and of course takes advantage of one of Shakespeare’s most absorbing plays. It also offers a plot which has something very relevant still to say about our world today – both in relation to the murderous lust for power and also the consequences for displaced people, civilians caught up in warfare. It would be perfectly possible for a director to create a modern setting for this work somewhere in the middle east or Russia
The set design in general reflected a world of bombed out buildings and a shattered landscape, a post war context. Given the number of scene changes needed throughout the opera, the Met’s revolving stage, with the ability to move from a blasted heath to the Macbeth’s bedroom quickly, was very effective. The overall impression was gloomy – lighting was subdued and there was a lot of dry ice for Scotch mist…..sets on the revolve also included a big hall, an open space with fortified walls, as well as corridors inside the Macbeth’s castle. There was a predominance of black and grey tones in terms of set and costumes, apart from the witches, with Lady Macbeth in a white dress in the scenes of Duncan’s killing and her sleepwalking – and of course there was lashings of blood at various points. Costumes were basically Tudor with, for the men, a baggy pantaloon variant on kilts – the women looked as though they had stepped out of a Vermeer painting. However, the witches had greenish spangly gowns with curious West Africa – like head gear and smudged black lipstick all round their mouth.
The director had decided that the witches should be around in every scene, observing, muttering to themselves, nudging on the action that leads to the Macbeths’ downfall. This worked well. The witches and chorus of soldiers and displaced persons, or guests at Machebeth’s banquet were joined very effectively by a group of dancers who helped out also with the fight scenes (some very realistic sword fighting additionally by Quinn Kelsey and Freddie di Tomasso). On the whole I thought the director and designer got it just right. The director, Louisa Proske, runs an alternative opera company in New York. Her approach gave the work contemporary relevance – but never strayed into the wilder reaches of regietheater. The whole show looked credible, well rehearsed, and the director had clearly worked intensively with the singers to build up their understanding of their characters.
In particular Quinn Kelsey was really excellent as Macbeth. He has a warm rich voice, he has the power to ride over the orchestral climaxes, but, particularly in a screening. close-up. context, his acting was magnetic. He very clearly showned how Macbeth’s personality is gradually disintegrating, by movement, facial expressions and disturbed behaviours, and, in vocal delivery, it was remarkable how, in the Banquet scene, he could represent, through a more strangulated sound at points, the tension he was under. Lise Davidsen didn’t totally convince as Lady Macbeth – there’s something just too nice about her, maybe. You could see she was doing her very best – close up on screen – to contort her face in appropriate ways, looking very determined. But maybe the problem was how she and Kelsey reacted to each other (which is to say, they didn’t) – I would imagine you would normally need some sense of sexual tension between the Macbeths to demonstrate and indeed explain the hold she has over Macbeth. Vocally she was wonderful in arias – like the Sleepwalking scene – where the power of her voice, her ability to fine it down to a lyrical thread, and her ability to float top notes beautifully . could all be displayed. In some of the other arias, there was a need for coloratura agility which her big voice is not entirely able to deliver as well as some others. Birgit Nilsson sang Lady Macbeth, and recorded it – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxCs32TzA5M&list=RDyxCs32TzA5M&start_radio=1. You can compare it with Davidsen’s recording. Nilsson looks a nasty piece of work, but to me has some of the same problems with the coloratura. I don’t think I have actually heard Freddie di Tomasso sing anything before, though I have read a lot about him. His big aria was sensational – what a voice!! Ryan Speedo Green was good too. The Met chorus was on top form throughout and Yannick moved everything along with energy and wit.
A really good evening, and an exciting ‘find’ for me
