The Deutsche Oper Berlin is hosting the premiere of Verdi’s MACBETH, directed by Marie-Ève Signeyrole and conducted by Enrique Mazzola, on 23 November 2024 at 6 pm. The title role will be sung by Roman Burdenko, Felicia Moore as the Lady, Marko Mimica as Banco and Attilio Glaser as Macduff.
Abb.oben: MACBETH von Giuseppe Verdi, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Premiere am 12. Juni 2011, copyright: Bettina Stöß
With MACBETH, Giuseppe Verdi set one of Shakespeare’s dramas to music for the first time, bringing one of the most bloodthirsty stories ever to the opera stage. Verdi tightens the plot in his usual manner, allowing sudden emotional changes to follow one another and thus intensifying the dramatic tension. The result is a gripping maelstrom that leads the characters inexorably towards their gruesome end.
In the composer’s oeuvre, MACBETH represents a decisive step towards a reorganisation of Italian opera, which is even more evident in the revised version of 1865. Verdi’s usual dance-like rhythms and exuberant vocal lines are complemented by a meticulous elaboration of the tonal colours, which lend the dark plot of nebulous prophecies and brutal power struggles its unique atmosphere.
Enrique Mazzola describes MACBETH as an experiment that was highly modern for its time in both versions. The Music Director of the Lyric Opera Chicago and Principal Guest Conductor of the Deutsche Oper Berlin has thrilled audiences at Bismarckstrasse in recent years with the premieres of Verdi’s LES VÊPRES SICILIENNES and Donizetti’s ANNA BOLENA, among others, which were staged under his musical direction. As one of the leading interpreters of bel canto, but also of French grand opera, he has worked on an entire cycle of operas by Giacomo Meyerbeer at the Deutsche Oper Berlin.
The recording of the performances of Massenet’s HÈRODIADE (June 2023) has also just been released on CD by Naxos. Etienne Dupuis (Hérode), Clémentine Margaine (Hérodiade), Nicole Car (Salomé) and Matthew Polenzani (Jean) sang under his baton. This season, Mazzola is devoting himself to the multi-faceted tonal power of the “Scottish play”.
Marie-Ève Signeyrole is one of the most sought-after directors of her generation. She made her debut at the Deutsche Oper Berlin in 2020 with the interdisciplinary concert project BABY DOLL to Beethoven’s 7th Symphony. This was followed two years ago at the Tischlerei, together with the Iranian-French composer Keyvan Chemirani, by the music theatre NEGAR, which is set in Tehran, deals with the love of two people as a life-threatening political issue and in which art becomes a means of rebellion.
The French director’s work is characterised by her preoccupation with current social issues and an immediate, effective visual language. She brings MACBETH to the stage as an operatic thriller, set in a dystopian near future of a Europe torn apart by war and energy crisis, in which witches act as string-pullers to realise their economic interests through hard-hitting manipulation.
The ruling couple at the centre of the plot, caught between tyranny and delusion, are embodied by two rising stars of the opera world: Roman Burdenko, who can be seen in the title role, has established himself as one of the leading baritones in Verdi’s repertoire in recent years. Since his debut at the Deutsche Oper Berlin in 2016 as Renato in UN BALLO IN MASCHERA, he has earned acclaim here as Barnaba in LA GIOCONDA, Scarpia in TOSCA, Don Carlo di Vargas in LA FORZA DEL DESTINO and in the title role of RIGOLETTO, among others.
Felicia Moore, who has been causing a sensation since graduating from the Julliard School in New York, presents herself as Lady Macbeth. After her first engagements and successful competitions in the USA, she made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in the title role of Shostakovich’s LADY MACBETH IN MZENSK. She has previously appeared at the Deutsche Oper Berlin as Gerhilde, the third Norn and Gutrune in Wagner’s RING.
WHEN?
Premiere: Saturday, 23. November 2024
WHERE?
German Opera Berlin
Bismarckstraße 35
10627 Berlin