Macbeth
Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff, 10th to 24th September
Guiseppe Verdi’s version of Macbeth is stripped down yet faithful to its Shakespearean source. Verdi balances political parable with the human and supernatural elements. The three witches are ramped up into a chorus of hags. The opera spins around the interplay between this unholy trio. Everything in the performance is at the service of character—Verdi urged his Lady Macbeth to produce a sound that was “dark” and “devilish”—one of the first occasions in opera when a singer was steered away from beautiful expression towards character singing that was unlovely but truthful.
Welsh National Opera’s version is sung in Italian and favours the 1865 version. Director Oliver Mears will ensure commitment to reality while Spanish baritone Luis Cansino and Philadelphia-born soprano Mary Elizabeth Williams will take care of the blood-dappled Macbeths.
Norma Royal Opera House, 12th September to 8th October
Bellini’s bel canto masterpiece gets its first performance at Covent Garden in almost 30 years and the Royal Opera are pulling out all the stops. Directed by Àlex Ollé of the Catalan theatre group La Fura dels Baus, and with the vocal talents of Sonya Yoncheva—replacing Anna Netrebko—Joseph Calleja and Sonia Ganassi, this should prove the highlight of the season.
Owen Wingrave Peacock Theatre, 3rd to 10th September
Benjamin Britten wrote his pacifist opera for television in 1971. A depiction of the moral dilemma facing a young man from amilitary family who becomes a conscientious objector, it provides the perfect vehicle for British Youth Opera. Austere and immensely potent, Britten’s “black sheep” opera has never surrendered its significance or its relevance.
Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff, 10th to 24th September
Guiseppe Verdi’s version of Macbeth is stripped down yet faithful to its Shakespearean source. Verdi balances political parable with the human and supernatural elements. The three witches are ramped up into a chorus of hags. The opera spins around the interplay between this unholy trio. Everything in the performance is at the service of character—Verdi urged his Lady Macbeth to produce a sound that was “dark” and “devilish”—one of the first occasions in opera when a singer was steered away from beautiful expression towards character singing that was unlovely but truthful.
Welsh National Opera’s version is sung in Italian and favours the 1865 version. Director Oliver Mears will ensure commitment to reality while Spanish baritone Luis Cansino and Philadelphia-born soprano Mary Elizabeth Williams will take care of the blood-dappled Macbeths.
Norma Royal Opera House, 12th September to 8th October
Bellini’s bel canto masterpiece gets its first performance at Covent Garden in almost 30 years and the Royal Opera are pulling out all the stops. Directed by Àlex Ollé of the Catalan theatre group La Fura dels Baus, and with the vocal talents of Sonya Yoncheva—replacing Anna Netrebko—Joseph Calleja and Sonia Ganassi, this should prove the highlight of the season.
Owen Wingrave Peacock Theatre, 3rd to 10th September
Benjamin Britten wrote his pacifist opera for television in 1971. A depiction of the moral dilemma facing a young man from amilitary family who becomes a conscientious objector, it provides the perfect vehicle for British Youth Opera. Austere and immensely potent, Britten’s “black sheep” opera has never surrendered its significance or its relevance.
