Macbeth 2020

Macbeth


Giuseppe Verdi

Libretto by Francesco Maria Piave

based on the play by William Shakespeare


Friday, February 14 - 8 p.m.

Sunday, February 16 - 2 p.m.

Saturday, February 22 - 8 p.m.

Sunday, February 23 - 2 p.m.

at the Lucie Stern Theatre

1305 Middlefield Rd., Palo Alto, CA 94301


FREE Preview with Piano

Thursday, Feb 6, 2020 - 8:00 p.m.

Palo Alto Art Center

1313 Newell Rd., Palo Alto, CA 94301


Performances last approximately 2 hours and 50 minutes,

including two 15-minute intermissions.

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Macbeth 2020 - Media Gallery

PRODUCTION VIDEOS

Macbeth 2020 - Media Gallery
PRODUCTION PHOTOS by Otak Jump

About Macbeth


World Premiere: Teatro della Pergola, Florence
March 14, 1847
Revised version (in French): Théatre Lyrique
April 21, 1865 
WBO Premiere: February 14, 1975
Pictured: Interior of the Teatro della Pergola - Florence, Italy
This was the first theater to feature private boxes.

This is West Bay Opera's third production ever of Verdi's Macbeth.The libretto follows the Shakespeare play closely. Though Verdi turned the three witches into an entire women's chorus, he still felt that the witches, as a whole are dramatically on a par with Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.  A major success upon its premiere in 1847, the opera was revised and translated into French in 1865 for Paris. Paradoxically, it is the revised version, sung in Italian, that has become more widely performed.   Verdi was particularly proud of this score, his first opportunity to explore Shakespeare's work, which he greatly admired.  After Nabucco's Abigaile, Lady Macbeth is the next big soprano role in the Verdian canon, an intrepid musical exploration of the shakespearean archetype, a woman whose all-consuming ambition ends in tragedy and madness. Macbeth is a remarkable score, and in addition to the beautiful arias, it includes outstanding ensembles and lots of exciting choral and orchestral music.
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Creative Team


Pictured: Lighting spot math

José Luis Moscovich - Conductor

Ragnar Conde - Stage Director

Peter Crompton - Set Designer

Callie Floor - Costume Designer

Steve Mannshardt - Lighting Designer

Kara Davis - Choreographer

Lisa Cross - Makeup & Wig Designer

Eric Johnson - Props Designer

Giselle Lee - Sound Designer

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Cast


Pictured: Helena Janzen as Lady Macbeth - WBO 2006 - Photo: Otak Jump
Macbeth - Krassen Karagiozov
Lady Macbeth - Christina Major
Banco - Ben Brady/Don Hoffman (2/22,23)
Macduff - Dane Suarez
Malcolm - Jackson Beaman
Physician - Kiril Havezov
Lady in Waiting - Deborah Rosengaus
Geordie Burdick - 1st Apparition
Jinjia (Max) Liu - 2nd Apparition
Megan D'Andrea - 3rd Apparition
Oliver Chiang - Servant
Michael Good -  Herald


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CHORUS
Pictured: The witches in WBO's 2006 production
Macbeth Chorus
Bruce Olstad, Chorusmaster
Mark Baushke, Joanne Bogart, Richard Bogart, Geordie Burdick, Daniel Burns, Yvonne Casillas, Oliver Chiang, Peter Cipriano, JoAnn Close, Megan D'Andrea, Heather Davis, Michael Good, Chris Hawks, Barry Hayes, Terry Hayes, Lynn Hayes-Tucker, Jeffrey Lampert, Tina Yuyang Lu*, Amber McDonald, Katherine Naegele, Mark Nelson, Shelby Nester, Joanne Newman, Philip Schwarz, David Simon, Josephine Taubert*, Terra Terwilliger, Mayo Tsuzuki, Gabi Winer*
* First appearance with West Bay Opera
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ORCHESTRA 
Concertmaster | Kristina Anderson/Virginia Smedberg
Violin I | Sofia Fojas, Virginia Smedberg/Andrew Lan, Emily Chiet
 Violin II | Rebecca McCormickJudith Kmetko, Frida Pukhachevski, Hazel Keelan
Viola | Gary Beswick, Alessandra Aquilanti, Rebecca Gemmer
Cello | Lucinda Lennicheck, Catarina Ferreira, Thomas Shoebotham
Bass | Marie Laskin
Harp | Dan Levitan/Wendy Tamis
Flute I | Michelle Caimotto
Flute II/Piccolo | Vivian Boudreaux
Oboe/English Horn | Meave Cox
Clarinet I | Arthur Austin
Clarinet II/Bass Clarinet | Susan Macy
Bassoon | Jamael Smith, Gail Selburn
Horn | Susan Vollmer, Cathleen Torres
Trumpet | Richard Leder/Christopher WIlhite
Steven Anderson
Trombone | Chris Vincenti, Tommy Holmes/Andrew Hill
Bass Trombone | Ken Sablinsky
Timpani | Don Baker
Percussion | Norman Peck
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Production Staff


Technical Director: David Gardner

Office Manager - Abra Berman

Stage Manager: Pamela Garduño

Asst. Costume Shop Supervisor: Merna Black

Orchestra Manager: Christy Crews

Orchestra Librarian: Virginia Smedberg

Housing Coordinator: Diane Yeramian


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MACBETH PRODUCTION STAFF

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Macbeth 2020 - Press and Reviews 
  • Read Joshua Kosman's review in the SF Chronicle

    Review: Verdi’s opera gives ‘Macbeth’ a vocal fury Shakespeare doesn’t have


    Joshua Kosman

    February 17, 2020

    Updated: February 18, 2020, 9:44 am


    There are plenty of differences between Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” and Verdi’s opera of the same name — like, why settle for just three witches when you can have an entire chorus of them? — yet perhaps the most telling is the increased vividness of Lady Macbeth.

    Not that she isn’t a key figure in the original — there’s a reason why Lady M. has become a watchword for overweening ambition — but Verdi’s version adds an extra dimension of vocal fury. To hear a soprano unleashing that famously daunting music, with all its high-flown intensity and craggy melodic leaps, is to understand in your bones what it means to be willing to stop at nothing in the quest for power.


    That was the trick pulled off by Christina Major on Sunday afternoon, Feb. 16, at the heart of West Bay Opera’s excellent production of “Macbeth.” The second installment of the company’s three-part all-Verdi season, presented at the Lucie Stern Theatre in Palo Alto, was an all-round splendid affair, featuring traditional but inventive staging, fine orchestral work and a first-rate cast headed by baritone Krassen Karagiozov in the title role.

    Yet it was Major’s singing, even more than the grim subject matter or the sepulchral lighting scheme or the spooky plunges into the netherworld of the witches, that made a listener’s skin tingle with shivers of awestruck delight. This was not a woman you would ever make the mistake of turning your back to unguarded.


    Major made that quality evident primarily through vocal means, with a powerful array of big but finely honed melodic phrases and specific interpretive choices. She brought a ferocious impatience to the Act 1 aria “Vieni, t’affretta,” in which she anticipates Macbeth’s arrival home so they can get the gears of their ambition oiled up and set into motion.

    The Act 2 drinking song that heralds the dinner interrupted by Banquo’s ghost sounded festive but ominous, and the final sleepwalking scene was a tour de force of anguish and guilt. Best of all, there seemed to be nothing Verdi threw at her — from full-voice high notes to glittering roulades to deep dives into her lower register — that Major couldn’t handle with precision and aplomb.

    She had a capable partner in Karagiozov, one who brought darkly gleaming tone and a robust presence to the role. Macbeth’s combination of fortitude and doubt came through repeatedly, especially in the final aria, which Karagiozov delivered with finely rendered artistry.

    Compared with other Italian operas of the period, “Macbeth” is a welter of secondary and ancillary characters (Shakespeare will do that), and West Bay’s large cast contained no weak links. Bass-baritone Benjamin Brady was a particular standout as a stentorian, rich-toned Banquo, and there were winning contributions as well from tenor Dane Suarez as Macduff, tenor Jackson Beaman as Malcolm and boy soprano Jinjia Liu, who made his one passage as a ghostly apparition resound beautifully.

    West Bay’s commitment to traditional staging meant a certain amount of stand-and-sing, but that didn’t keep director Ragnar Conde from conjuring up the drama in arresting theatrical colors, or choreographer Kara Davis from creating a panoply of intriguing stage pictures in the long witches’ ballet of Act 3.

    Presiding over the whole affair was conductor and company director José Luis Moscovich, who demonstrated yet again how much is possible with commitment and determination. That’s a story of fearless ambition with a much happier ending than “Macbeth.”


    https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/music/review-verdis-opera-gives-macbeth-a-vocal-fury-shakespeare-doesnt-have

  • Read Barbara Keer's review in Splash Magazine

    West Bay Opera’s “Macbeth” Review – Magnificent

    February 16, 2020 Barbara Keer Entertainment

    West Bay Opera’s All-Verdi 64th season brings Macbeth to the Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto, CA.  Attending the February 14th opening, I was moved by the power, beauty and richness of the production. While I was initially puzzled by the inconsistency of the day of love and the brutality of the theme, there was clearly love all elements of this production – a love of opera, music, theatre, and characters bound in a dysfunctional love. The audience that filled the theatre was clearly appreciative.

    I always love to see the West Bay Opera in this intimate and friendly venue.  The welcoming commentary by the company’s General Director, José Luis Moscovich  sets the tone for the opera that follows. Introducing Macbeth with pride, he speculated that after this production, people will be clamoring for tickets to La traviata. 

    Giuseppe Verdi’s tenth opera ( his first based on a Shakespeare’s play of the same name), Macbeth had an Italian and French version.  The Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave and additions by Andrea Maffei, was. written for the Teatro della Pergola in Florence and premiered on 14 March 1847. Macbeth was revised and expanded in a French version and given in Paris on 19 April 1865  Shakespeare’s plays provided Verdi with lifelong inspiration including his two final operas, Othello that was used as the basis for Otello (1887) and The Merry Wives of Windsor as the basis for Falstaff (1893).

    The story of Macbeth is set in medieval Scotland where Macbeth and his friend Banco, both generals in King Duncan’s army, encounter three witches. The witches’ prophecy is that Macbeth will quickly climb the succession ladder to become king. Though Banco, will never be king himself, he will become the father of kings. Soon messengers arrive with the news that Macbeth has been named Thane of Cawdor, making him next in line in the royal succession (sometime). He tells his wife, and she becomes obsessed with the prospect of becoming queen .  Learning that King Duncan and his entourage will be spending the night at Macbeth’s castle, she proposes to Macbeth that they kill the king in his sleep and dispense with the wait. After Macbeth becomes king, other murders follow, to cover up the original one. Macbeth, the usurper, finds no peace and becomes a tyrant. Lady Macbeth goes insane and dies, and the people of Scotland rise up and defeat the tyrant.  A masterful retelling of the Shakespeare story, Macbeth is an exploration of the human thirst for power, and its consequences. 

    West Bay Opera does the story proud.  The voices were exquisite. Costuming, staging, projections, lighting and sound were spot on.  The orchestra was perfection.  All of the acting, heightened the drama, and but especially that of Krassen Karagiozov as Macbeth. The music was beautiful but there was an almost ironic quality to the liveliness of the music juxtaposed with the tragic actions taking place.  While the cauldron scene with the witches stands out to me, there was so much to enjoy, you will have to see it for yourself. If you are lucky!

    Conducted by the company’s General Director, José Luis Moscovich, Macbeth (Paris version) was brilliantly stage directed by Ragnar Conde, the Artistic Director of Ensenia Ensamble, Mexico’s premier independent opera company.  The stellar cast features Baritone Krassen Karagiozov (Teatro Regio Parma, National Opera – Sofia) in the title role; the amazing soprano Christina Major (Teatro Colón, Buenos Aires) as Lady Macbeth; baritone Benjamin Brady (current finalist Met Regional auditions) as Banco and tenor Dane Suarez (Sarasota Opera) as Macduff.  Macbeth is presented in the 1865 (Paris) version, without cuts, including the ballet, in collaboration with noted modern dance company project agora of San Francisco and choreographer Kara Davis. 

    Costumes by Callie Floor; sets by Peter Crompton; lighting design by Steven Mannshardt; video projections by Peter Crompton with technical setup by Frédéric Boulay; makeup design by Lisa Cross; props design by Eric Johnson and sound design by Giselle Lee.


    https://splashmags.com/index.php/2020/02/16/west-bay-operas-macbeth-review-magnificent/#gsc.tab=0


  • Read the review by Ilana Walder-Biesanz in the SF Classical Voice

    A Bloody Valentine’s Macbeth From West Bay Opera

    BY ILANA WALDER-BIESANZ ,

    February 17, 2020


    People laughed last year when the Metropolitan Opera offered Bluebeard’s Castle on Valentine’s Day. West Bay Opera is vying for the “least romantic” title with their Feb. 14 opening of Verdi’s Macbeth, an opera of cruel murders and boundless ambition. Their production proves thoroughly engrossing for three of the four acts. (The other might leave you wishing you’d booked a romantic dinner instead.)


    West Bay places Macbeth in a firmly historical setting. Costumes (by Callie Floor) are an SCA lover’s dream, though the switch to all red for the blood-steeped Macbeths in Act II won’t win any awards for subtlety. Set pieces of gray stone transform from castle to heath with changes of the projected backdrop (set and projections by Peter Crompton). The drab set and dim lighting set an appropriately oppressive mood. Faceless witches and ghosts add an element of horror.


    Conductor José Luis Moscovich’s love for Macbeth shone from the first strains of the overture. The playing was the crispest I’ve heard from the West Bay Opera Orchestra, and Moscovich found moments of playfulness in the overture’s menacing textures. In Act IV, he elicited a lovely tone from the brass section for the first scene (Macduff’s lament) and evoked a mincing tiptoe for the second (Lady Macbeth’s sleepwalking). Only the start of Act III went awry, with muted sound and a dragging pace, though the orchestra gained verve as the act continued.


    Act 3 suffers from broader problems as well. It poses a dramatic challenge because little happens: Macbeth’s second visit to the witches is padded with long stretches of frenzied music. (West Bay Opera presents the Paris version of the score, and Act III contains the obligatory ballet.) Stage director Ragnar Conde fails to use this time for interesting or plot-relevant events. Instead, the witches dance, make menacing hand gestures, and sacrifice a baby. While the dancing (by Pauline Mosley, Alejandra Preciado, and Leyna Swoboda from project agora dance company) is skillfully executed, this aimless revel robs the (otherwise well-paced) opera of its urgency.


    Perhaps Act 3 also suffers from the absence of the opera’s star, soprano Christina Major as Lady Macbeth. Major entered the scene in Act 1 with guns blazing, with an “Ambizioso spirito” ranging from forte to fortissimo and sporting miles-wide vibrato. It wasn’t a nuanced start, but it showed off crunchy low notes, a ringing top, and impressive agility. Her Lady Macbeth seemed determined and slightly unhinged. The nuance came later: in her sleepwalking scene, she shaped lines with wistful delicacy. She was partnered well with Krassen Karagiozov (Macbeth), whose baritone boasts creamy legato and crisp diction. He delivered “Mi si affaccia un pugnal?” with the measured, semi-heroic posturing of a war hero, but by the banquet scene he was scrambling on the ground as he spat out his lines.


    Benjamin Brady’s gravelly, booming bass-baritone made for a dignified Banco. Tenor Dane Suarez had a late star turn with Macduff’s “Ah, la paterna mano,” thanks to his bright, heavy tone full of squillo and his ability to put sobs into his voice without losing the line of the music. The cast delivered particularly fine performances in the rousing Act 1 finale. “Schiudi, inferno” started as a gorgeously balanced a cappella quartet and swelled into a blow-the-house-out chorus.

    The intimate Lucie Stern Theatre allows the audience to experience the full effect of the singers’ voices and expressions. This small-scale opera isn’t without its cut corners: inaudible bit parts, the men’s chorus drifting flat, collapsing set pieces, and ’90s-PowerPoint-inspired projection transitions. In other details, West Bay surprises by punching above their weight. I’d have loved to listen to Deborah Rosengaus (Lady Macbeth’s Attendant) and Kiril Havezov (Lady Macbeth’s Doctor) for longer than their one brief scene. And someone find Jinjia Liu a play to star in: his adorable (silent) turn as Banco’s son Fleanzio was the most genuinely acted bit of the show.

    Valentine’s Day is past now, so don’t let the bloody plot deter you from a date night at Macbeth. Well-played, well-sung Verdi is a treat worth sharing.


    https://www.sfcv.org/reviews/west-bay-opera/a-bloody-valentines-macbeth-from-west-bay-opera

  • Read Eddie Reynolds' review in Theatre Eddies

    Macbeth

    February 15, 2020 by Eddie Reynolds

    Woodwinds creep together in soft, low measures before intertwining in higher registers and giving way to announcing brass that awaken spirits from the underworld.  Those dark figures manipulate wood puppets to tell the agonized history of a royal, childless marriage.  From foggy mists, faceless sisters of the night emerge in every sort of torn and draped rag, roving about while singing in high, otherworldly voices about dire deeds done like the drowning of some husband set off in his ship – each of the many singing what “I” did in bragging of the disaster.  As bodies twirl and swirl madly – their six-inch, deathly white fingernails flashing in the moon light – a drum announces two approaching receptors for their next set of damning prophecies, the recently victorious generals Macbeth and Banquo.


    Already Stage Director Ragnar Conde has established the eerie, near terrifying presence of his stage full of weird sisters – witches who have no facial features but who still show their obvious delight in producing death and chaos among the mortals.  The mood has been set for a tale that is blood-curdling in nature but with a magnetic draw to behold all its gory details.


    Conductor José Luis Moscovich has also already established that the thirty-person orchestra of this West Bay Opera production of Giuseppe Verdi’s Macbeth will once again live up to the company’s reputation of a magnificently played score that can rival the orchestras of venues many times the size of Palo Alto’s intimate Lucie Stern Theatre.


    And as the evening proceeds through its three hours of four acts (with two intermissions), a cast of impressive-to-astounding principals and a well-voiced chorus of near thirty will ensure that the sold-out audience will leave having enjoyed another evening of inspiring opera by this, the second-longest running opera company in the western United States.


    Against a backdrop of rolling clouds on a bleak plain, the witches greet Macbeth and Banquo with predictions that puzzle, thrill, and disturb all at the same time.  As they hear almost immediately that the witch’s hailing Macbeth as Thane of Cawdor is in fact now true, Krassen Karagiozov’s Macbeth sings with a mixture of baritone-voiced delight and angst that he has also been prophesied to be king, noting, “But why do I feel my hair standing on end? Where has this thought of blood come from?”  As he sings, a sprawled witch pulsates her arms and legs toward him as if encasing his in a web that has already doomed him.  In an incredibly profound, deep bass that portends even his own demise, Benjamin Brady’s Banquo searches in the depths of his fearful soul to make his own prediction as an aside:


    “Often the wicked spirit of hell tells us truths and betrays us, and cursed, we are abandoned above that pit dug out for us.”


    As if to echo his concern, the witches begin a slow and methodical, up-and-down pumping of their bodies, followed by flying into a fury of circling tornadoes as arms with their evil fingers cut through the dense-looking air like knives looking for hearts to be pierced.  And thus the pattern is set in Kara Davis’s spine-chilling choreography for the pools of blood soon to swirl.


    As she reads a letter from Macbeth of the weird sisters’ prophecies, the first notes we hear from a red-cheeked Lady Macbeth trumpet with hellbent vigor, “Ambitious Macbeth, for you, long greatness!”  But even as she questions his will to be wicked enough, Christina Major already makes it so beautifully clear with her stunningly strong soprano that she is now in command of his and her fates.  As notes roll with ever-gathering strength and purpose, she dictates maybe more to herself than even her husband, “Accept the gift, ascend the throne, and reign!”


    Once she learns King Duncan will be spending the night in their castle, she pulls out a dagger and cleans/sharpens it as if making love to its sheath, next holding the knife as if an extension of her very arm.  All the while, Ms. Major’s Lady Macbeth sings with such spell-bounding expression that I soon realize that I have long forgotten to read the projected translations of the Italian libretto.  The meanings are clearly written in Lady Macbeth’s piercing eyes and tell-tale sung tones.

    However captivating this Lady Macbeth is in these first encounters, Christina Major has only begun to show her mettle as the absolute star of the evening.  When the first act of her planned murders – that of King Duncan – is announced before stunned and mourning members of the Macbeth court, her heavenly voiced soprano rings ironically above a gloriously voiced chorus as she and they implore to God, “Let your righteous anger be unleashed upon the villain of this horrible crime.”  Only we at that moment know that she leads the gathered mourners’ prayer for her and her husband’s own destruction.


    Later, when it becomes clear that Banquo and his son must be the next victims, her Lady Macbeth sings with near grisly delight as she resolves, “A new crime … It is necessary,” her voice once again ringing with fiery determination.  Near her fated end as she manically searches for her own salvation through bloodless hands, she madly tries to clean the blood that only she can see dripping from those so-guilty hands.  Finally sprawled on the floor, her still-stellar voice moans, pleads, and commands the hands to wash themselves, next realizing with eyes now almost popping out of their socket, “What’s done cannot be undone.”  In these and so many other respects, the night belongs to Christina Major and her unforgettable Lady Macbeth.


    Along with the aforementioned stirring bass voice of Banquo, others in this cast also have their moments that evoke admiration of both their voices and their personifications.  Chief among these others is the clarion tenor vocals of Dane Suarez as Duncan as he agonizes over the heartless murders of his wife and children.  His breath-taking notes reach heavenward in their scale as he anguishes not being able to save them, with one sustained “God” cutting through the air in such sad supplication to break our listening hearts.  Much deserved was the audience’s response, one of the loudest and longest applauses and rounds of “Bravo” of the evening.


    The rich and expressive mezzo-soprano of Deborah Rosengaus’ Lady in Waiting, the noteworthy bass of Kiril Havezov’s Doctor, and the brightly voiced tenor of Jackson Beaman’s Malcolm – one that soars in duet with Macduff’s outstanding tenor voice in the triumphant finale as the chorus accompanies them – all are most worthy of note and appreciation.


    While predominantly he sings with an appealing baritone, Krassen Karagiozov as Macbeth fails in the majority to capture in his voice the tumultuous, emotional aspects of the King, particularly when contrasted with Lady Macbeth.  Even as he sees ghosts in Act Two’s famous banquet scene, his vocals do not measure up to the fear and the insanity of the moment that Macbeth should be feeling.  Near his own life’s end as Macbeth desperately hangs on to the belief that the approaching Malcolm can never defeat him, the sung vocals too often over-extend themselves with some strain in sustaining the power required.  When Macbeth does finally admit in resignation, “I feel as if I am dying,” I frankly was not convinced.


    What is convincing in establishing the moods of the Moorish tragedy are the designs of set and projection by Peter Crompton.  Ancient-looking rock walls include a regal lion’s face whose features and mane are appropriately distorted and crumbling.  The castle’s walls, arch, and steps are enhanced by a large backdrop of projections that show scenes of dank, dark castle interiors; foggy fields and moors; and threatening skies whose billowing, black clouds vividly announce their own predictions. 


    Steve Mannshardt’s lighting projects colors of green, blue, and purple that warn of a world not right while streams of red never let us forget the blood that is being shed by both the innocent and eventually, the guilty.  The costumes of Callie Floor and the make-up and wig designs of Lisa Cross remind us we are in the cold, damp regions of the eleventh century Scotland while also establishing the underworld, evil qualities of the dancing, brew-producing witches.


    Attending Macbeth on the Valentine’s opening night was certainly a unique way for the packed audience to celebrate love; but at least the color of red fit well the day, and what better couple not to immolate in one’s own pursuit of love than the Macbeths.  Once again, West Bay Opera proves with this highly compelling, musically excellent Macbeth that one does not always have to go to San Francisco or San Jose to spend a thoroughly enjoyable night with the likes of Verdi – especially in this case when one has the opportunity of experiencing a Lady Macbeth whose heavenly vocals belie so well her hellish spirit and satanic ambition.


    Rating: 4 E


    https://theatreeddys.com/2020/02/macbeth.html

  • Read Renee Batti's review in the Palo Alto Online

    Sound and fury of 'Macbeth' roil West Bay Opera stage

    Strong cast, high drama and impressive musical direction make show a must-see

    by Renee Batti / Almanac


    At a banquet, Krassen Karagiozov as Macbeth rails on as if he's seen a ghost. Which he has. Seated at the table is the ghost of Banquo, whom Macbeth had ordered to be murdered. Photo by Otak Jump.

     

    Are you familiar with Shakespeare's "Macbeth" and planning to see a performance of West Bay Opera's production of Giuseppe Verdi's opera of the same name? An excellent decision — and knowing the Shakespearean plot you won't be surprised by the dominant color presiding on the well-ordered stage: Red. Raging red. Blood red.


    The story of the Thane of Cawdor and his wife, Lady Macbeth, is a bloody tale indeed, a petri dish in which Shakespeare unleashes naked ambition and power lust to mingle with human hearts unguided by a moral compass. The results are not pretty.


    But even the ugliest aspects of human nature can be transformed into great art, a feat accomplished on a historical scale by Shakespeare and Verdi, and on a more transitory but nevertheless grand scale by our local opera company, which is staging its gripping production at the Lucie Stern Theatre through Sunday.


    While the tale of the Macbeths and their evil deeds is anything but uplifting, the telling of it soars in this production, thanks to a stellar lead cast and the skilled stage and music direction that local opera goers have come to expect.


    Verdi's "Macbeth," which premiered in 1847 in Florence, Italy, was the first of three operas the composer wrote based on Shakespeare's plays. Like the original play, it contains riches of witches, the unwelcome ghost of the murdered Banquo at a banquet, and, of course, that damned spot.


    Taking the lead roles are singers now familiar to West Bay audiences: Baritone Krassen Karagiozov and soprano Christina Major. They are both huge talents who command an equally huge stage presence.


    Major made her debut with West Bay as Donna Anna in Mozart's "Don Giovanni" and went on to perform the challenging role of Norma in Bellini's opera of the same name. Earlier this season, she performed the role of Lucrezia Contarini in Verdi's "I due Foscari." With each performance, her star quality shone, and her portrayal of Lady Macbeth is no exception.


    Verdi was said to dismiss the notion of beautiful vocalization in the character of Lady Macbeth. He was after a voice that signaled a brutality, a window into the heart of evil.


    It's hard to imagine that any great singer of Major's caliber would intentionally sing in a "hoarse, stifled, hollow voice," as Verdi desired. But his call for a voice capable of expressing even the ugliest aspects of human nature is answered magnificently in her performance.


    And it is fitting that the loveliest expression of her great vocal gift floats ethereally from the stage in her aria, Una macchia e' qui tuttora ("The spot is still here"). Lady Macbeth is guilty of hideous acts, but it is only toward the end of this story that she feels piercing guilt; it is remorse, conveyed in wrenching but exquisite music and singing, that reveals Lady Macbeth as human, flawed though she is.


    Karagiozov's tremendous vocal gifts are on full display in his portrayal of Macbeth. Near the conclusion of the opera, his deeply moving lamentations Pieta', rispetto, amore and La vita! ... che importa? showcase aspects of his skills — a range of expression — that earlier scenes of arrogance and belligerence kept hidden.


    This production is but the latest feather in Karagiozov's West Bay cap: Other roles he has memorably performed are Enrico in "Lucia di Lammermoor," the title role in "Rigoletto," and Escamillo in "Carmen."


    The only problem with baritone Benjamin Brady's portrayal of Banquo is that it is too brief. Banquo, alas, is murdered early on. Brady's stage presence is commanding — even as a ghost — but his is a sonorous and expressive voice we want to hear more of.


    Tenor Dane Suarez as Macduff also turns in an impressive performance, both in his singing and commanding presence on the stage.


    This production also features dancers, in scenes choreographed by Kara Davis, who enhance the menacing tone of the story. They are witches and spirits, a trio of which slither their way into the banquet in which the ghost of Banquo appears to Macbeth, giving it an added dimension of foulness and creepiness.


    Also worthy of applause are a robust performance by an orchestra powerfully conducted by Jose Luis Moscovich, West Bay's general director; the stage direction of Ragnar Conde; set and projection design by Peter Crompton; costumes by Callie Floor; and lighting by Steve Mannshardt.


    https://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/2020/02/19/sound-and-fury-of--macbeth-roil-west-bay-opera-stage

  • Read Paul Hertelendy's review in ArtsSF.com

    BE MY VALENTINE, MACBETH!

     February 14, 2020  Paul Hertelendy


    PALO ALTO, CA—The romance of Valentine’s Day came face to face with ghoulish rituals and murder most foul by that usurper Macbeth.


    Disastrous? Hardly. The plucky little opera company virtually sold out the house February 14th, emulating the mouse that roared. And it brought on high drama on its opening night, overcoming almost all adversity.


    This was that jinxed operatic “Macbeth,” by Verdi, out of Shakespeare—an unsettling tale so fearsome that theaters everywhere still leave one light burning on stage all night, and actors dare not mention the name (preferring “The Scottish play”).No Shakespeare work has more devilish incantations, witches, apparitions and clairvoyance, capped by murder of a Scottish king by his host. Surely it’s Shakespeare’s best grand-opera plot, offering the most overdrawn witches’ ballet by way of dessert.


    Given the massed scenes, boiling cauldrons and pitched battles, sandwiching it all into a modest site never intended for opera (Lucie Stern Theater) borders on the impossible: Scant fly space, a pit that can accommodate only 18 string players, and a meager backstage that has dancers and choristers bumping into each other. Meanwhile most of the orchestral sound comes from the wings, with the woodwinds, percussion and brass perched on platforms, barely able to see the baton down in the pit. The postage-stamp-sized lobby may fast turn you at intermission into a bosom friend of the boosters that keep the enterprise afloat. Oh, and did we mention, the general director is also conductor and actually a transportation engineer with a graduate degree?


    And yet—at West Bay Opera, it works. The drama featuring stellar baritone Krassen Karagiozov in the lead crackles with big-league dramatic fire, abetted by Verdi’s greatly expanded role for the mistress manipulator with the sturdiest backbone, Lady Macbeth. Dramatic soprano Christine Major brought intensity and stage presence (along with her mostly on-pitch delivery) to her role bolstering the weaknesses in the guilt-ridden murderer Macbeth’s makeup. Each gets to spin off a mad scene.


    All a fiction from a far-off century? Not with lines like “This country is ruled by criminals” and “This land has become a den of thieves.”


    Still lacking: A posted ‘Any resemblance to people living or dead,’ etc., etc. disclaimer above the proscenium. Because evil is eternal.


    This is one of the first mature Verdi operas, tackling the inevitably challenging Shakespearean tragedies. His ensembles ending the four acts (telescoped here to eliminate the third intermission) are classic. Supreme subtleties, like the soft-voiced assassins’ chorus prior to Banquo’s murder, appear magically like fairies in the night.


    You’re caught up, even when the forests of Birnam Wood are but a few leafy branches, and the victorious army is more filled with white- and gray-beards than with Brave-Hearts.


    The skilful, colorful mobile projections by Crompton and Boulay spare WBO having to shuffle a lot of furniture around. Meriting mention too were bass Benjamin Brady (Banco/Banquo) and the well-drilled choruses. The only misfire was the witches’ Act Three, all spiky fingernails, masks and balletic gyrations—once a show-stopper, but now somewhere between hokum and high camp.


    Baton in hand, General Director José Luis Moscovich led a striving orchestra, inserting fiery authority. In commentary, he noted that he didn’t know anywhere that a company could sell out ‘Macbeth’ on Valentine’s—It’s yet another only-in-Palo-Alto achievement, produced by this fast-rising ensemble founded in 1956 as a volunteer neighborhood enterprise.


    http://www.artssf.com/be-my-valentine-macbeth/

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