Verdi’s Macbeth

Revival of the 2005 production

Sung in English with piano-accompaniment

Scottish Opera’s brooding, atmospheric Macbeth returns in celebration of the 2014 Year of Homecoming. Inspired by events in the war-torn Balkans, Dominic Hill’s production is at once contemporary and ageless; a world of camouflage-clad leaders and grungy, chain-smoking witches, where power is all but it comes at a price.

Macbeth has heard a prophecy, given to him by three hags, that he will become King. His wife, spurred by ambition, persuades him to seize his opportunity and kill Duncan, who currently sits on the throne. Murder follows murder, and soon Macbeth has the blood of two men on his hands. Haunted by apparitions, visions and guilt, he returns to the witches for guidance, but their words give him little comfort in his future.

Unsettling and full of tension, the drama of Shakespeare’s play is underlined by the brilliance of Verdi’s score. Desperate and furious, at times ethereal and visionary, his music gets to the heart of this powerful story, intensifying the tragedy as Macbeth’s destiny unfolds. Touring 15 venues across Scotland in Autumn 2014, this piano-accompanied production features former Scottish Opera Emerging Artists Shuna Scott Sendall and Marie Claire Breen. David Stephenson reprises his Spring 2014 performance in the title role.