Name: Macbeth
Start: 2018-09-19T00:00:00.000Z
End: 2018-09-19T00:00:00.000Z
Location: Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre

Organization

Conductor

Anton Torbeev

Valery Gergiev

Stage director

David McVicar

Set designer

Tanya McCallin

Lighting designer

David Cunningham

Chorus master

Anna Pipia

Larisa Shveikovskaya

Director assistant

Anna Shishkina

Singer

Bass

Yevgeny Plekhanov

Banquo

Soprano

Alena Diyanova

Lady Macbeth

Tenor

Evgeny Mizin

Macduff

Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre

Italian

Macbeth

Vladivostok

Russia

Public

Russian

English

Approved

“Here is my Macbeth, which I love more than all my operas,” Giuseppe Verdi wrote in 1847 to his father-in-law, friend and benefactor Antonio Barezzi, dedicating the score of the opera to him. "The most daring and ambitious" of all his early works, this opera continued to be the composer's favorite brainchild until his death. ‹…›

The first mention of "Macbeth" is found in Verdi's letters in May 1846. By this time, Verdi is not only famous, he is the most fashionable composer in Italy. And not only Italy. The popularity of the young composer (he is thirty-three) has stepped over the Alps: Donizetti offers to stage his opera Ernani, which in Italy goes on at once in twenty-three theaters, in Vienna; proposals also come from directors of theaters in Paris and London. The premiere of "Atilla" has just made a splash in Venice, then - with even greater success - the opera was held in Florence, Ferrara, Reggio, Livorno, Rovigo, Vicenza, Padua, Trieste, Cremona. There is no such, even the smallest theater in Italy, where his "Nabucco" and "Lombards" would not be staged. Applications are pouring in on the composer from all sides, and he works, literally bringing himself to nervous exhaustion.

As always, Verdi plans several subjects for work at the same time. This time - "The Robbers" by Schiller (later this idea will be embodied in the opera "Bandits"), "The Ancestor" by Grillparzer and "Macbeth" by Shakespeare. Gradually, the composer's thoughts are centered around The Robbers and Macbeth, and he develops both plots, not yet quite deciding which one to prefer. But, as often happens, everything was put in its place by circumstances, in this case, the presence of the singers the composer needed. Verdi wrote "Bandits" with the expectation that the brilliant tenor Gaetano Frascini would perform the main part, but for a number of reasons the theater's contract with Frascini did not take place. Other suitable tenors could not be found. Then Verdi and Lanari opted for Macbeth, since the main part of the opera was written for a baritone, and the need for a leading tenor disappeared by itself. The composer put aside the already half-finished score of "Bandits", and devoted himself entirely to "Macbeth".

Verdi has always been interested in meaningful, deep, significant plots. At different times, he turns to the work of Byron, Hugo, Schiller, Werner, Voltaire, Euripides, Racine, Dumas ... Macbeth is the composer's first meeting with Shakespeare. And it is with Shakespeare that Verdi first enters the theme, which later became one of the central ones in the composer's work - "the tragedy of a strong-willed man, overwhelmed by a fatal passion." The protagonist of the play, the Scottish military leader Macbeth, is a truly "renaissance" character. A man of outstanding abilities - strong, courageous, talented, energetic, fearless - Macbeth, in contrast to the heroes of Shakespeare's early tragedies, Iago or Edmund, who do not recognize the good at all, certainly understands the difference between good and evil. But the tragic contradiction becomes all the more acute:

The strength and passion of powerful characters, the complexity and conflict of situations, the combination of drama and the highest poetry, characteristic of Shakespeare's works, fascinated Verdi. On none of his operas, neither before nor after Macbeth, did he work so hard, carefully and painstakingly.

Contact with Shakespeare's dramaturgy gave the composer an impetus to rethink and revise the basic principles of Italian operatic dramaturgy, prompted him to search for new patterns between all elements of opera performance and create a full-fledged synthetic musical and theatrical performance - musical drama. Verdi will strive for this all his life, overcoming old inertia and rooted traditions.

To begin with, he independently writes a detailed script for the future opera; guided by the intuition of a musician-playwright, he breaks the action into acts and scenes, outlines the main musical forms, builds an alternation of rise and fall of dramatic tension. Only after that he sends the script to Macbeth librettist Francesco Maria Piave, accompanying it with the following text: “Here is a sketch of Macbeth. This is one of the greatest tragedy that mankind has managed to create so far. If we can't do something great, let's try to do something extraordinary. My outline is clear, simple, and concise. I implore you to stick to a small number of numbers. In the text (and remember this well) there should not be a single extra word. Everything has to make some sense." And then, from letter to letter to the librettist, the same requirement is repeated:

Persistent demands alternated with detailed instructions, instructions with reproaches, reproaches turned into outright abuse. Finally, in January 1847, Verdi abruptly breaks off relations with Piave, the future librettist of his Le Corsaire, Stifelio, Rigoletto, La Traviata, Simon Boccanegra, Aroldo, Forces of Destiny, second edition. Macbeth" - and turns to the poet Andrea Maffei for help in order to complete the opera in collaboration with him and rework Piave's writing.

Such a biased attitude of the composer to the libretto of "Macbeth" is far from accidental. The task of adequate refraction of Shakespeare's tragedy in music dictated the need to overcome the attitude to the word as a secondary element of an operatic work, sometimes contrary to the logic of the plot, entirely subordinated to the development of the melodic line. In Macbeth, the poetic word regains a dramatic and effective meaning: the word dictates the necessary vocal intonation, the structure of the melody, harmony, and musical form.

Naturally, Verdi could not use the text of the tragedy without changes: much was reduced, omitted. A number of scenes and characters have disappeared, the images of Malcolm and Macduff opposing Macbeth have been simplified, the image of King Duncan is only nominally present in the opera. The most significant of the additions is the chorus of Scottish exiles at the beginning of Act IV. The strengthening of the politically relevant motive for the struggle of the suppressed nation could not but cause a resonance among the Italian public, seized on the eve of the revolution of 1848-1849 by a patriotic impulse. But still, for the first time in Verdi's operatic work, the theme of the anti-tyrannical struggle remains in the background. The composer's attention is focused around the development of the fates of Macbeth himself and Lady Macbeth.

For the first time, Verdi wrote an opera without the traditional love affair. Instead, the composer had to embody the gloomy solemnity of history, the grandeur and scale of extraordinary heroes: the passion, lust for power, the will and determination of Lady Macbeth, painful pathos, spiritual discord, Macbeth's numbness, as well as the drama of exceptional feelings and atrocities associated with the struggle for power. It was in the music that characterizes Macbeth and Lady Macbeth that Verdi managed to embody many truly Shakespearean stanzas. Particularly noteworthy in this regard is the scene of somnambulism, where the original text of the tragedy has undergone only slight cuts.

And yet it would be unfair to consider "Macbeth" only from the point of view of the personal tragedy of the main characters. According to Verdi, “there are three main roles in this opera, ‹…›: Lady Macbeth, Macbeth and witches. Witches dominate the drama: everything comes from them; we see them clumsy and rude in the first act, majestic and prophetic in the third. They are truly a character, and a character of the greatest importance." The composer entrusted the parts of the three witches not to soloists, but to three groups of the choir, believing that a powerful choral recitation would produce the necessary dramatic effect. ‹…› Working with singers is the next step. Verdi's "Macbeth" does not need virtuoso vocalists - the only and full-fledged rulers of the Italian opera scene of that time. This does not mean that the composer renounces bel canto, on the contrary, he rightly considers it the "salt" of the national operatic art. But he denies the bel canto, which is self-sufficient and self-sufficient. Verdi does not want his new opera to become just an occasion to demonstrate the filigree coloratura of the soprano N or the “velvet” lower register of the baritone NN. In an effort to raise the genre of opera to the level of high tragedy, the composer makes new, unprecedented for Italian opera demands on the artists. Violating the written and unwritten canons, he puts the dramatic expressiveness and meaningfulness of the performance higher than a beautiful voice and singing skills. The virtuoso singer, "vocal autocrat" from now on must turn into a musical theater actor, co-author, conductor of thoughts and intentions laid down in the opera by the composer-playwright. so that his new opera would be just an excuse to demonstrate the filigree coloratura of the soprano N or the “velvet” lower register of the baritone NN. In an effort to raise the genre of opera to the level of high tragedy, the composer makes new, unprecedented for Italian opera demands on the artists. Violating the written and unwritten canons, he puts the dramatic expressiveness and meaningfulness of the performance higher than a beautiful voice and singing skills. The virtuoso singer, "vocal autocrat" from now on must turn into a musical theater actor, co-author, conductor of thoughts and intentions laid down in the opera by the composer-playwright. so that his new opera becomes just an occasion to demonstrate the filigree coloratura of the soprano N or the “velvet” lower register of the baritone NN. In an effort to raise the genre of opera to the level of high tragedy, the composer makes new, unprecedented for Italian opera demands on artists. Violating the written and unwritten canons, he puts the dramatic expressiveness and meaningfulness of the performance higher than a beautiful voice and singing skills. The virtuoso singer, "vocal autocrat" from now on must turn into an actor in the musical theater, a co-author, a conductor of thoughts and intentions laid down in the opera by the composer-dramatist. Violating the written and unwritten canons, he puts the dramatic expressiveness and meaningfulness of the performance higher than a beautiful voice and singing skills. The virtuoso singer, "vocal autocrat" from now on must turn into a musical theater actor, co-author, conductor of thoughts and intentions laid down in the opera by the composer-playwright. Violating the written and unwritten canons, he puts the dramatic expressiveness and meaningfulness of the performance higher than a beautiful voice and singing skills. The virtuoso singer, "vocal autocrat" from now on must turn into a musical theater actor, co-author, conductor of thoughts and intentions laid down in the opera by the composer-playwright.

In this respect, the very choice of performers is characteristic. Verdi writes Macbeth specifically for the baritone Felice Varesi and insists that he play the role. The composer is even ready to clash with Lanari, since the impresario has already signed a contract with another excellent baritone, Gaetano Ferri. “He is outwardly more attractive,” writes Verdi Lanari, convincing him to refuse Ferri, “he has a more beautiful voice and, if you like, he is, in my opinion, even the best singer, but in SUCH A ROLE, of course, he cannot impress, that Baresi is capable of." Similar "paradoxical" demands are made by Verdi to the performer of the role of Lady Macbeth. He formulated them with the utmost precision in 1848, protesting against the talented singer Eugenia Tadolini: “Tadolini has a beautiful and kind face, but I would like to see Lady Macbeth ugly and evil. Tadolini has a perfect voice, and I would like the lady not to sing at all. Tadolini has an amazing voice, bright, clear, powerful; and I would like the lady's voice to be sharp, muffled, gloomy. There is something angelic in Tadolini's voice, and I would like something diabolical in the lady's voice. This part was intended by the composer Marianna Barbieri-Nini, who, according to contemporaries, was considered by no means a beauty, but had a strong, expressive soprano voice and was an excellent actress.

And then Verdi literally floods the performers with letters. In each letter, along with new fragments of parts, there are detailed instructions regarding his vision of the characters "great, energetic, original", vocal, and most importantly, dramatic performance. And again from letter to letter - an urgent request “to thoroughly study the situation and think about the words; the music will come by itself”… Moreover, the key moments of the opera, the duet of Lady Macbeth with her husband and the scene of somnambulism, according to Verdi, “should not be sung under any circumstances: it is necessary to convey them by playing and reciting in a very gloomy and muffled voice: without this it is impossible action; orchestra with mutes; the stage is extremely dark."

To perform an opera "with intentions" one needs the "whole", and Verdi demands that the opera not only be sounded and played, but also staged properly. He leaves no attention to even a seemingly insignificant detail of the production of Macbeth. He is concerned not only with the quality performance of the supporting parties, the number of choristers, the location and composition of the stage orchestra, but also with the design, costumes, mise-en-scenes, make-up, lighting, special effects. Verdi develops frantic activity: he consults with historians and writers "regarding the era and clothing"; writes to London to find out how it is customary to stage "Macbeth" in Shakespeare's homeland, and writes out sketches of costumes from there; consults with prominent theater artists about the use of one of the technical innovations of that time in the production - a magic lantern; insists that that the performer of the role of Banquo appear on stage and in the silent role of the spirit of Banquo, since the spirit of Banquo "should be immediately recognizable as Banquo"; asks to hand out the parts of the choir and soloists so that with his arrival “it would be possible to proceed to rehearsals with the orchestra after two or three rehearsals”, and warns that “there will be many rehearsals, both orchestral and stage”. There were really many rehearsals. Despite the whims of the singers, Verdi sometimes resorted to outright pressure and continued to rehearse until the curtain went up. The level of the new production had to be significantly different from everything that both the performers and the audience were used to. so that with his arrival "it would be possible after two or three rehearsals to go to rehearsals with the orchestra", and warns that "there will be many rehearsals, both orchestral and stage." There were really many rehearsals. Despite the whims of the singers, Verdi sometimes resorted to outright pressure and continued to rehearse until the curtain went up. The level of the new production had to be significantly different from everything that both the performers and the audience were used to. so that with his arrival "it would be possible after two or three rehearsals to go to rehearsals with the orchestra", and warns that "there will be many rehearsals, both orchestral and stage." There were really many rehearsals. Despite the whims of the singers, Verdi sometimes resorted to outright pressure and continued to rehearse until the curtain went up. The level of the new production had to be significantly different from everything that both the performers and the audience were used to.

The first performance of Macbeth took place at the Teatro della Pergola in Florence on March 14, 1847. The assessment of the premiere in various sources ranged from "received very coldly" to "passed with incredible success." However, in favor of the "incredible success" was the fact that almost immediately the opera was accepted for production by dozens of theaters in Italy, and then in other countries. Ten years later, the stage history of "Macbeth" already included more than two hundred different productions: in 1849 the opera was staged in Vienna, in 1850 in New York, two years later - in Stockholm, in 1854 "Macbeth" heard St. Petersburg, in 1860 in Manchester, the role of Lady Macbeth was performed by the brilliant Pauline Viardot.

In March 1864, Verdi received an offer to stage Macbeth on the stage of the Paris Lyric Opera. But for this it is necessary to add a ballet divertissement traditional for French opera performances. While revising the score to create dance music, Verdi found that "there are pieces in the opera that are either weak or uncharacteristic, which is worse." This was the reason for the creation of a new, Parisian version of the opera.

The editing of Macbeth is the greatest work Verdi did with his early works. Almost a third of the opera's music was either remade or rewritten. The composer sought to enhance the dramatic expressiveness of the characters' musical characteristics. Thus, the image of Lady Macbeth in the second edition receives a new, deeper interpretation. Now it is he who becomes central. Perhaps such a reassessment of the role of the heroine is a consequence of the impressions received by Verdi at the performances of Shakespeare's tragedy, which he first saw in London in 1847.

The Paris production of Macbeth was a moderate success. Verdi blamed the singers for everything, the criticism of that time attributed the failure to the composer, who supposedly was not familiar enough with Shakespeare's work. “Oh, they are very mistaken in this,” Verdi was indignant. “It is possible that I did not manage to convey Macbeth well, but that I do not know, do not understand and do not feel Shakespeare is, by God, not true. He is one of my favorite poets, having been in my hands from early youth; I still read and reread it all the time.” The composer will remain faithful to this love all his life. The list of Shakespearean operas, begun by Macbeth and continued by King Lear, is crowned by the recognized masterpieces of Verdi's operatic work - Otello and Falstaff.

The stage history of "Macbeth" in the 20th century includes many productions undertaken by almost all the leading opera companies in the world. Unfortunately, until now, Russian theaters have remained an exception among them. In 2001, named the year of Giuseppe Verdi by UNESCO, Macbeth was performed for the first time from the stage of the Mariinsky Theatre.

Svetlana Kotlyarenko

русский

Macbeth by Verdi, From (2018/2018), Directed by David McVicar,, Conductor Anton Torbeev, Valery Gergiev, Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre, Vladivostok, Russia

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