Macbeth (English National Opera Guides, 41)

by Giuseppe Verdi, Giorgio Melchiori, Harold Powers

The English National Opera Guides were originally conceived in partnership with the English National Opera and edited by Nicholas John, the ENO's dramaturg, who died tragically in an accident in the Alps. Most of the guides are devoted to a single opera, which is described in detail—with many articles that cover its history and information about the composer and his times. The complete libretto is included in both the original language and in a modern singing translation—except where the opera was written in English. Each has a thematic guide to the most important musical themes in musical notation and each guide is lavishly illustrated. They also contain a bibliography and a discography which is updated at each reprint. The ENO guides are widely regarded as the best series of their kind and excellent value.

Genres: Music

96 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1847

About the author

Fullest artistic form of operas of Giuseppe Verdi, Italian composer, included La Traviata in 1853, Aïda in 1871, and Otello in 1887; people credit him with raising the genre.

Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi, mainly a Romantic, most influenced the 19th century. Houses frequently perform his works throughout the world, and some themes transcended the boundaries of the genre and long took root in popular culture:
* "La donna è mobile" from Rigoletto
* "Va, pensiero" (The Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves) from Nabucco , and
* "Libiamo ne' lieti calici" (The Drinking Song).

Masterworks of Giuseppe Verdi used a generally diatonic rather than a chromatic musical idiom, and people sometimes criticized tendency toward melodrama, which dominates the standard repertoire a century and a half.

Reviews

[Javier Fernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Verdi and Willie, what a dynamic duo! I attended a production of this at Steinmetz Hall at the Dr. Phillips Center in Orlando tonight. What a treat! There's another staging on Sunday. I highly recommend it. BTW, Steinmetz Hall is ranked in the top 10 in the world for acoustics.

[Two Readers in Love · Rating 5 out of 5]

The following is not a review. Goodreads "notes" section doesn't leave enough space for production notes, and I like to track the production details when I re-read the libretto.

22July2020 - Watched meopera.org pandemic stream of production originally aired Saturday, January 12, 2008, Baritone Željko Lučić and soprano Maria Guleghina are the murderous Macbeths in Adrian Noble’s gritty production of Verdi’s tragedy. The 2008 Live in HD transmission also features tenor Dimitri Pittas as Macduff and bass-baritone John Relyea as Banquo

4Dec2020 - Tonight’s free Nightly Met Opera Stream: Soprano Anna Netrebko and baritone Željko Lučić join forces in an electrifying performance of Verdi’s Macbeth. The October 11, 2014 Live in HD transmission also features tenor Joseph Calleja as Macduff and bass René Pape as Banquo, conducted by Fabio Luisi. Stream Adrian Noble’s grim staging tonight, December 3, starting at 7:30PM ET until tomorrow, December 4, at 6:30PM ET.