‘Macbeth’ kicks off the Met Opera tour with a powerful Verdi adaptation

When most people hear Macbeth, they are only think William Shakespeare and the classic opera by Giuseppe Verdi which kicks off the 2014 Metropolitan Opera season. Soprano Anna Netrebko stars as Lady Macbeth, Joseph Calleja sings the role of Macduff with René Pape as Banquo and Fabio Luisi conducts the orchestra.

Zeljko Lucic stars the title role, but Netrebko as Lady Macbeth “is the show” and conveys the appropriate broad range of emotions: anger to dispair on her journey to insanity.

Pape’s Banquo is truly amazing with most of the performance just adequate and, at times, uneven. The dark and forboding stage is necessary and makes the story a difficult opera to relate to….the audience may never feel fully engaging as great operas so easily accomplish.

Adrian Noble directs the Verdi opus much to the same problem as the original performances: it was rather ordinary. Due to the heavy tone and themes of the opera it is a difficult presentation to achieve a “greatness” than will be very evident in other Met productions.

Fathom gets the audience up close, which is a wonderful experience, but the stage and costumes offer little that is impressive or has a “wow” factor.

Macbeth receives 3 1/2 out of 5 stars

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Next week will be “Le Nozze Di Figaro by Mozart and then upcoming operas to be featured on “The Met: Live in HD” will be “Carmen” by Georges Bizet on Nov 1, followed by “II Barbiere di Siviglia” by Gioacchino Rossini on Nov 22.