Royal Opera House Cinema

Macbeth

Verdi’s fascination with Shakespeare as operatic material began when he decided to compose Macbeth in 1847. The composer thought the play ‘one of the greatest creations of man’ and, along with his librettist Piave, set out to make of it, ‘something out of the ordinary’ on the operatic stage. Musically, Verdi’s masterstrokes included the macabre choruses for the witches, the evocative orchestral colours and the increased role for the ‘ugly and evil’ Lady Macbeth’ to ‘a focus on Lady Macbeth, one of the most memorable evil women in opera. Phyllida Lloyd’s production, last presented by The Royal Opera in 2006, uses Verdi’s 1865 revision, especially noted for Lady Macbeth’s great aria ‘La luce langue’ and the wonderful Act IV opening chorus, and brings out the dark motivations of the Macbeths and the light of justice for those they wrong.

Simon Keenlyside and Liudmyla Monastyrska play the Scottish nobleman and his villainously ambitious wife, who spurs her husband to murder for the sake of his career, and American bass-baritone Raymond Aceto takes the role of Banquo, murder victim and symbol of conscience.