In the 1979 version of Macbeth by Giuseppe Verdi, the witches are there. But they are not limited to 3. Macbeth (Piero Cappuccilli) and Banquo (Nicolai Ghiaurov) arrive on stage occupied by creepy women. That’s when they starting chanting their prophecies to the Scots. As some of the prophecies get realized sooner than the pair of soldiers expected, Macbeth felt nervous. This bag of nerves wasn’t shared by his wife, Lady Macbeth (Shirley Verrett).
I then understood why most fans of Macbeth by Giuseppe Verdi have elevated Verrett’s version of Lady Macbeth as the standard for other dramatic sopranos to follow. I admit that I am the kind of opera fan that listens and watches at the same time. So I expect Lady Macbeth to not only sound the part of being a political vulture but to act the part. Like if political ambition could only spit out of her pores, it would. I may not like the other opera fans who watch every single version of Macbeth by Giuseppe Verdi just to check whether they have outperformed or outclassed Verrett as Lady Macbeth. To each, his or her own. But Verrett would definitely affect the way I watch Macbeth The Opera again.
Did Verdi intend his version of Macbeth to be a psycho-thriller? If it is, then it was a vision shared by the version staged at Teatro La Scala. There may be ghosts and murdered royals all over the place. But most of the scariest ghosts are the ones that resided in Macbeth’s head. In the banquet where the new royal couple is supposed to be celebrating a toast, Macbeth snapped and started ranting at a non-existent Banquo. Lady Macbeth could only chastise him on the side while distracting everyone else with her invitation to drink.
That was basically Lady Macbeth’s role for the most part in Macbeth by Giuseppe Verdi. The messengers found Macbeth’s reaction to his promotion as Thane of Cawdor as strange. He doesn’t look happy. The instability was heightened by his first murder. He can’t even complete it himself. Lady Macbeth had to swoop in and finish the job herself. Soon everyone that served as a threat to the crown he usurped was collateral damage. Even Macduff’s family who are already distant heirs to his throne.
Did the witches exploit the looming insanity in Macbeth? Doesn’t seem like it if this production of Macbeth by Giuseppe Verdi will be observed. Macbeth even threatened the witches death if they kept any more messages from here. The messages were starting to get mixed. And the only part of the prophecy that pacified him was “No man born of a woman shall harm you”. You then realize how carefully worded is that prophecy as everyone else has closed in on the King of Scotland. And how Macduff (Veriano Luchetti) end up personifying the loophole to that prophecy.
We then go to the differences that I mentioned earlier. Here at Macbeth by Giuseppe Verdi, the only murder shown is that of Banquo. Duncan’s murder wasn’t shown. They simply showed Macbeth and Lady Macbeth coming in and out of Duncan’s guest room. The massacre of Macduff’s family wasn’t shown either. But the crowd surrounding Macduff bewailed of how Scotland has (to paraphrase it) gone to the dogs. Macduff summarized best all of the regret he felt at going into exile so hastily, leaving his family in the country ruled by a criminal.
Another notable difference is Duncan. Of course, in the Shakespeare version, he has speaking lines as he is in good terms with Macbeth. But in Macbeth by Giuseppe Verdi, he is a silent character. A plot tool to emphasize the level of psychopathy of Lady Macbeth. In fact, it can be tempting to change the title to “Lady Macbeth” since she pulled the strings for the most part. Every time Macbeth is bothered by his conscience, Lady Macbeth would go on and remind her husband that what happened has happened. Nothing they can do about it anymore.
Verdi’s librettists, Francesco Maria Piave and Andrea Maffei, managed to paraphrase the iconic scene “Out, damn spot!” At least it’s still there to create an impact. And Verrett succeeded in creating a Lady Macbeth that we might sympathize with … for no less than 10 minutes. She’s a political vulture. I know. We’re not supposed to feel bad for her. I don’t feel bad for her because she never thought that what she did was wrong. It was the kind of characterization that gets you thinking of relief because finally, justice befalls on Macbeth now that his manipulator has died. And just like most deaths in this version of Macbeth by Giuseppe Verdi, her death happened off-stage.
Would I recommend this to my students in case I get to teach World Literature in college again? Maybe, but only excerpts. I still remember how my students had their nosebleed moment when they watched the BBC TV movie version of the play. I would show this to any opera fan who needed to see the greatness of Shirley Verrett. And why Piero Cappuccilli was one of the best Verdi baritones that ever graced the opera stage.
In case you haven’t realized yet, this is one Verdi opera that went against the grain of romantic tragedy/comedy found in most Italian operas. There is more than one mad scene. As for copies of Macbeth by Giuseppe Verdi featuring Cappuccilli and Verrett, there are audio CDs sold at Amazon. But instead of Veriano Luchetti in the role of Macduff, this version has the great Placido Domingo as Macduff. Click here to get your copy and mp3 version. Don’t forget to send in your tips by clicking the “Donate” button below. Thanks for reading.
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