Verdi - Macbeth / Sinopoli, Bruson, Zampieri, Deutsche Oper Berlin [DVD]

Giuseppe Sinopoli's untimely death was a great loss to the music world. A tremendous, sensitive interpreter of Italian opera, this video DVD is a valuable document of his art and should be so treasured. We are fortunate that it shows a great deal of his conducting, his careful attention to detail, emotional involvement and communicating power. Notice for example the finale of the first act, the breathtaking `a capella' ensemble with the heartbeat- like tympani accompaniment later joined by the orchestra with a beautiful melody that seems to descend straight from heaven. Macbeth is an important work in Verdi's opus. Here he used Shakespearean text and attempted serious characterization for the first time. He took great pains for the parts of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth as well as the chorus of the witches and understood the meaning of the play perfectly which in turn reflected in the characters and the music as well. The two principals are beyond praise. Renato Bruson is one of the greatest baritone of our time with strong and sensitive voice. His forte is powerful but he is also capable of true pp singing and his characterization is a marvel. Maria Zampieri is literally "fire eating" in the Callas sense in her formidable role, but signs of strain are noticeable at times. Still...it's quite an experience to watch and hear her. Her eyes seem to have a life of their own. The lesser roles..... James Morris, the great bass-baritone from the Met has good voice and sensitivity for the tragic Banquo , while Dennis O'Neill is fine in the 'one aria' tenor role, as Macduff. Production of the Deutsche Oper is suitably sparse with aptly blood-red costumes for the principals. Background of dark blue emphasizes the red and is very effective. All in all : a great video, well directed with excellent sound and picture quality. Go for it!

I would not bother buying this version. The Lady Macbeth role possesses very little or any acting at all. Only once does she show emotion in her face and voice--that occurs when she has to sing the drinking song after Macbeth has collapsed. Her voice seems to "screech" like an Owl.. The staging is horrible and the consistent pattern of red becomes overbearing and obnoxious One would be better off if they just staged a "concert" version. All of the other roles are very well done. James Morris does a excellent performance even when he is laying down in a prone position. All other male singers are very good. Review by "Froggy"

Macbeth was the tenth opera penned by Verdi and when he dedicated the vocal score to his old benefactor, Barezzi, he wrote: "Here now is this Macbeth, which is dearer to me than all my other operas, and which I therefore deem more worthy of being presented to you". Indeed in preparation for it's first production Verdi was concerned with each and every aspect. When he had been working on Macbeth he worked slowly and had refused other commissions or the discussion of future engagements. He wrote the libretto himself in prose and then sent it to Piave to be turned into verse. When he learned that a certain singer was being considered for Lady Macbeth he wrote that " (she)...is a handsome woman with a beautiful face, and I want Lady Macbeth to be ugly and evil...(her voice) should be that of a devil". He further informed a producer that there were two choruses "of the utmost importance..." so you should not be economical about the number of singers. The "witches should always be divided into three groups" with at least six in each. Particular care should be taken in choosing the tenor for Macduff. Unfortunately there are few visual records of this opera in production and relatively not that many audio recordings either. The great Swedish soprano Birgit Nilsson famously debuted as Lady Macbeth in 1947. Just excerpts of her doing this role were preserved some years later in a studio recording. Shirley Verret performed the role in the Claude D'Anna film with some roles being done by actors with the singing done by others. Although Shirley Verret and Leo Nucci both performed and sang their roles as Lady Macbeth and Macbeth. Here Mara Zampieri does not appear ugly, but, often she is wild eyed with some facial contortions that suggest bedevilment. Her sleepwalking scene is chilling. Renato Bruson sings well and often looks the part of one guilty and frightened over what he has done. Directly behind Conductor Sinopoli there is a white pinned backdrop hanging from the orchestra pit wall which obviously has one purpose, that of making certain that his "screen time" in his tie and tails photographs well. I have never seen this done before. The staging is quite modest with little set decoration, but, it neither detracts from nor enhances the action on stage. Some might feel that the use of the color red is a bit overdone. This may be actually the best of the few visual records of performances of this opera.

This is definitely the least-boring MACBETH I've seen in a long long time. It's a very difficult opera to sustain, because the libretto reduces Shakespeare's articulate antiheros to cardboard; also, the mood remains the same throughout the piece, and, so much of the music is band-music, more or less brain-dead.However, the two lead performers, Renato Bruson and Mara Zampieri, actually make these characters interesting. Renato Bruson is an excellent singing actor although he has been overhyped. He plays the piece as if it were a spaghetti-western, with a Clint-Eastwood-like squint and a rugged, bluff manner. He's much more interesting than, for instance, Piero Cappuccilli. And Mara Zampieri is a huge, penetrating vocal athlete, and a good operatic over-actor too. She sings with terrific legato line but also articulates the notes, and she is only very rarely off pitch. The two have good chemistry together.Yes, the sets are dark and minimal as the other reviewer said, but that focuses our attention on the principals in their hot-orange/scarlet robes.