Learning on ScreenMacbeth
2013. Italy. TDK. Blu-ray or DVD. 156 minutes + 10 minutes of extras. Price: £24.99
About the reviewer: Ann Aungle worked at London Metropolitan University for 31 years and was its Site Library Manager and Academic Liaison Manager at the time of her retirement and is an Opera Enthusiast.
The plays of Shakespeare have inspired many artists over the centuries, not least the 19th century Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi, who pronounced himself a great fan. Verdi was to compose 3 Shakespearian operas – Macbeth, an early work, with words by Francesco Maria Piave, followed some 20 years later by his 2 brilliant final works Otello and Falstaff, each with masterly librettos by Arrigo Boito.
This video version of Macbeth was recorded live at the Teatro Regio di Palma in 2006 with the resident orchestra and chorus conducted by Bruno Bartoletti. The cast, led by baritone Leo Nucci, is predominantly Italian apart from the French soprano Sylvie Valayre who sings the role of Lady Macbeth. The production was directed by Liliana Cavani, known mainly in the UK for her controversial film The Night Porter (1974), and designed by Dante Ferretti who won an Oscar for his work on Martin Scorsese’s The Aviator (2004). Piave’s libretto pares down the original play and concentrates on key dramatic moments such as the witches prophecies and Lady Macbeth’s letter, banquet and mad scenes, and includes key arias for Banquo (bass) and Macduff (tenor), interspersed with fine solos for Macbeth. The audiences in the 1840s were keen on having a ballet break in their operas and Verdi obliged by supplementing the witches third act prophecy scene with a musical interlude for dance. Sadly the choreography in this production is distinctly underwhelming. The Act 1 opening scene bizarrely portrays the witches as busy washerwomen. This obviates any potential feeling for the sinister and supernatural. Their Act 3 cavorting adds nothing to the dramatic tension either. Costumes seem to range across the 16th and 17th centuries. And strangely we have the Lady Macbeth letter scene in a setting reminiscent of Teletubby land. However, the production is sensitively filmed. We don’t have to stare down the throats of the singers. The camera varies the shots from tactful facial close-ups to full figure shots to views of the whole scene, and the English sub-titles are easy to read. The visible presence of the audience helps to define this production as ‘theatrical’ so there is no attempt to deliver a type of realism in the style of Zeffirelli’s films of La Traviata and Otello.
Why buy this DVD or Blu-ray? Opera is notoriously difficult to downsize and capture on screen. Shakespeare ditto. Nonetheless you may want to have a recording of Verdi’s Macbeth for your collection or you may fancy a memento of the performances of the main protagonists in this particular production. But there is strong competition from elsewhere: a vintage recording from 1987 with Renato Bruson in the title role, a David Pountney 2001 production with Thomas Hampson or more recently Phyllida Lloyd’s version with Carlos Alvarez, all available at competitive prices. But if you are a Nucci nut, and he has quite a following in Italy where he recently celebrated 30 years of performance at La Scala, this DVD / Blu-ray could be the one for you.
Ann Aungle
