The Metropolitan Opera – Verdi: Macbeth [290995]
Released: 2008-04-13
Revenue: $0
Budget: $0
Profit: $0
Runtime: 157 mins
Popularity: 0.275
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Vote Count: 0
Overview: 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 [17]
Željko Lučić
Macbeth
John Relyea
Banquo
Maria Guleghina
Lady Macbeth
Elizabeth Blancke-Biggs
Lady-in-waiting
Dimitri Pittas
McDuff, Thane of
Mary Jo Heath
Self - Special G
Richard Hobson
A Servant of Mac
Raymond Renault
Duncan, King of
Russell Thomas
Malcolm, Duncan'
Adam Hauser Piñero
Fleance, Banquo'
Keith Miller
A Murderer
David Crawford
A Warrior
Ashley Emerson
A Bloody Child
Anne-Carolyn Bird
A Crowned Child
James Courtney
A Doctor
Joseph Turi
A Herald
MET Orchestra

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