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Opera

Macbeth

By Giuseppe Verdi

Person iført mørkt jakkesæt går væk mod en rød baggrund med en kniv i hånden på et gulv dækket af små, glitrende fragmenter.

One of Italy’s greatest composers embraces one of Shakespeare’s most iconic tragedies. Dark, blood-soaked and unrelenting – and essential viewing for any opera lover.

Giuseppe Verdi was captivated by Shakespeare throughout his life. Even early in his career, he recognised that the English playwright’s tragic universes were ideally suited to his own increasingly dramatic musical language.

Drama abounds in Macbeth, composed relatively early in Verdi’s career and marking his first full encounter with Shakespeare’s opulent poetic world. Here, power is not bestowed – it is seized. Yet power comes at a cost. Macbeth learns this after murdering King Duncan, as he is consumed by guilt and haunted by a darkening conscience. To his wife, Lady Macbeth, such weakness is intolerable. Driven by ruthless ambition, she is prepared to destroy everything – and everyone – in pursuit of the crown.

In Macbeth, Verdi fuses Shakespeare’s shadowed tragedy with music of searing intensity and brooding atmosphere. Nowhere is this more striking than in the portrayal of Lady Macbeth, who in the opera’s final moments becomes the embodiment of catastrophe itself, descending into madness as she desperately attempts to wash the imagined blood from her hands.

In Australian director Benedict Andrews’ 2013 production, the symbiotic and destructive dynamic between the Macbeths forms the axis of a stark staging that lays bare the work’s brutality. Set designer Ashley Martin-Davis creates a world at once seductive and savage, stripping the characters to their core, while Victoria Behr’s costumes draw them ever deeper into the nightmare.

This season, Jens Søndergaard of the Royal Danish Opera’s soloist ensemble celebrates his 25th stage anniversary with his role debut as the tormented Macbeth. Opposite him, soprano Marigona Qerkezi – who last season delivered a gripping and dramatic Tosca – returns as Lady Macbeth.

Macbeth is performed in Italian with Danish and English surtitles.

Please note: Strobe-like lights are used in parts of the performance.

Recommended from 13 years old

Macbeth
date -
location The Opera House - Main Stage
Price 200 - 1,105 DKK
En gruppe personer i lyse kjoler samlet i en tæt klynge på et blåt gulv under et loft af store, lyseblå jakkesæt og dragter hængende i snore. Rummet er præget af et køligt blåt lys, og på gulvet ligger der spredte guldfarvede elementer.
To personer ligger henover et langt spisebord dækket med dug, tallerkener, flasker og store opsatser med blomster og kandelabre med tændte lys i et blåt oplyst rum. Bordet er omgivet af stole med udskårne rygge, og i baggrunden skimtes andre personer stående mod en væg.
En person i lyseblå dragt går forrest i en samlet gruppe af personer i matchende lyseblå habitter og kjoler. Gruppen bevæger sig fremad på et blåt gulv foran en stor blå væg, mens en enkelt person står alene i baggrunden til venstre. Gulvet er drysset med mindre genstande.
To personer i hvide skjorter og mørke bukser står i en central lyskegle og vender sig mod hinanden med genstande i hænderne. De er omgivet af tæt røg og store vægstrukturer, og på hver side ses store grupper af personer, hvoraf flere løfter genstande op i luften. Rummet har et mørkt, dramatisk præg med skarpt modlys bagfra.
En person i en hvid kjole står midt i et mørkt, blåt oplyst rum og holder en tændt lysestage. Omkring personen hænger lange ledninger fra loftet ned til rækker af aflange lamper på gulvet, der kaster et stærkt blåt lys.
En person i hvid skjorte og mørke bukser sidder foroverbøjet i en mørk lænestol på en gulvflade spredt med små genstande. Baggrunden er mørk med tæt røg og fem lodrette rækker af varme, gule spotlys. Til højre står en slank lysestage med et tændt lys.
En person iført hvid skjorte og mørke bukser står i forgrunden og holder krampagtigt om en lyserød tylnederdel mod brystet. I baggrunden ses en gruppe personer, der sidder og ligger mellem telte, madrasser og bagage på et blåt oplyst gulv foran en mørk væg.
To personer med blod på hænderne står mod hinanden mod en mørk baggrund. Den ene person er iført sort kjole, og den anden er iført hvid skjorte og grå bukser, mens de holder hinandens hænder.
Flere personer omringer to personer i midten, hvor den ene person støtter en anden knælende person. Flere af de omliggende personer løfter knive i vejret. Baggrunden er lys med røg, og gulvet er mørkt under en skarp belysning.
En person i hvid skjorte med blodpletter og mørke bukser står foroverbøjet og holder en blodig kniv. Til højre står en person i en lyseblå dragt med blod på hænderne. Gulvet er blåt med spredte stykker guldfarvet serpentin, og baggrunden består af store blå paneler.
En person i jakkesæt holder hånden for øjnene af en anden person i sort jakkesæt og slips, som står med den ene fod på en fodbold. Gulvet og bagvæggen er gule, og til højre hænger en lang, gulglitrende kjole i snore fra loftet.
Flere personer i mørke jakkesæt og masker, herunder dyremasker, står i et grønt oplyst rum under rækker af hængende lamper. Personerne holder indkøbsposer og genstande. Rummet har lyse vægge og gulv, og stemningen er dyster.
En person iført lyseblå kjole står op og lægger en hånd på hovedet af en anden person, som sidder på knæ i et gråt jakkesæt med slips. Gulvet er blåt med spredte stykker grønt glitrende serpentin. Baggrunden består af store blå vægpandeler, og scenen er oplyst af et skarpt lys ovenfra.
Person iført guldkrone og hvid skjorte stænket med rød væske, der minder om blod. Personen holder en stor, rund mørk bakke foran sig i et mørkt rum, mens en spejling ses i baggrunden til højre.

Creative team

Komponist

  • Giuseppe Verdi

Dramatiker

  • William Shakespeare

Dirigent

Iscenesættelse

  • Benedict Andrews

Scenografi

  • Ashley Martin-Davis

Lysdesign

  • Jon Clark

Kostumedesign

  • Victoria Behr

Cast

Vassilis Christopoulos
Jens Søndergaard
Marigona Qerkezi

Lady Macbeth

Marigona Qerkezi
Henning von Schulman
Jamez McCorkle

Macduff

Jamez McCorkle
Linnea Nordenback

Lady Macbeths hofdame

Linnea Nordenback
Magnus Løvlie

Malcolm

Magnus Løvlie
Simon Schelling

En læge

Simon Schelling
Tae Jeong Hwang

En læge

Tae Jeong Hwang
Arash Azarbad

Macbeths tjener, En snigmorder

Arash Azarbad
William Tarrach

Macbeths tjener, En snigmorder

William Tarrach
Albin Ahl

En herold

Albin Ahl
Dong Huy Kim

En herold

Dong Huy Kim
Lasse Christian Bach

Første åndesyn

Lasse Christian Bach
Rasmus Ruge

Første åndesyn

Rasmus Ruge
Maria Foldager

Gæstesolist

Maria Foldager

Cast

Forestillingsdatoer

Learn more about the performance

  • Macbeth

    Synopsis

    Act 1

    In the dark of night a coven of witches are gathering. They have come with important news for the generals of the Scottish army – Macbeth and Banquo: In a vision they have seen a magnificent future for Macbeth, as Thane of Cawdor and King of Scotland. For Banquo they bring news that he will father kings who will rule over the Scottish realm. 

    As the witches disappear, Macbeth and Banquo are left alone with their astonishment; an astonishment which becomes greater still as a messenger arrives with news from the Scottish king: Macbeth has been made Thane of Cawdor, making the first of the witches’ prophecies come true. 

    A few days later at Macbeth’s castle, Lady Macbeth receives a letter from her husband containing the news of the witches’ prophecies and his ennoblement. When a messenger brings news that Macbeth and the king are on their way to the castle, Lady Macbeth decides to take fate into her own hands. 

    When Macbeth arrives, she tells him of her plan: King Duncan of Scotland must die by Macbeth’s own hand that very night. Macbeth does not approve, but he is persuaded and kills the king as he sleeps. Afterwards he refuses to smear the blood of the dead king onto the sleeping guardsmen, so that they will be accused of the murder, leaving this dark deed to Lady Macbeth. 

    A short while later, Banquo and the nobleman Macduff arrive and uncover the murder. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth join in the dismay at the death of their king. 

    Act 2

    Macbeth has been proclaimed King of Scotland. The second of the witches’ prophecies has come true, while the rightful heir – the murdered king’s son, Malcolm – has fled Scotland and accusations of having murdered his own father. 

    But for Macbeth all is still not well. The prophecy of Banquo becoming the father of kings worries him, and the solution is clear: Banquo and his son Fleance must die. Only then can Macbeth rest assured that his crown is secure. Lady Macbeth is not happy about the plan but is persuaded, and together they plan the murder. 

    Banquo and his son Fleance arrive for a celebration at Macbeth’s castle. They walk straight into the arms of the waiting assassins. As his father is murdered, Fleance flees. 

    In the castle Lady Macbeth is welcoming her guests. Macbeth receives the message that Banquo has been murdered, but just as he is about to feel a little more at ease, he is paralyzed with fear: Before him he sees Banquo’s bloodied ghost. Terrified, Macbeth begs the ghost to leave while Lady Macbeth and the guests look on in amazement. 

    Act 3

    Beside himself with misgivings after the death of Banquo and unsure of what the future will bring, Macbeth seeks out the witches, who bring forth three apparitions bearing new prophecies: The first bids him beware of Macduff. The second assures him that “no man of woman born” can harm him. The third assures him that he will be safe until the mighty Birnam Wood marches on his castle, Dunsinane. 

    Calmed by the apparitions, Macbeth asks about Banquo’s descendants and is confronted by another apparition: A procession of future kings, followed by the ghost of Banquo himself. Horrified, Macbeth collapses to the ground. 

    As the witches disappear again, Lady Macbeth comes to find her husband, and together they plan the murder of Macduff and his entire family. 

    Act 4

    On the Scottish border, Macduff is gathering an army of fugitives from Macbeth’s tyranny. He is himself full of anger and sorrow for his wife and children, whom Macbeth has had murdered. Malcolm, the son of the late King Duncan, joins Macduff, intent on fighting Macbeth and winning back his crown. The army seeks shelter under the trees of Birnam Wood while they plan their attack. 

    In the castle Dunsinane, Lady Macbeth is haunted by remorse. In her dreams, she revisits the terrible murders she has ordered, and unable to rest peacefully she sleepwalks through the castle at night, trying to wash invisible blood from her hands. 

    In another room Macbeth too is awake in the night. For him there is no rest either as he awaits the arrival of his enemies. He bitterly realizes that he will only be remembered for his vile deeds. A servant brings him the news that Lady Macbeth has taken her own life and that the trees of Birnam Wood are moving towards the castle. 

    As Malcolm and Macduff arrive at the castle with their armies, Macbeth flings himself into the fight. Macbeth and Macduff meet in a vicious duel, where Macbeth taunts Macduff with the prophecy that no man born of woman can hurt him. Macduff retorts that he was cut out of his mother’s womb and therefore was not born naturally, upon which he kills Macbeth and Malcolm is proclaimed the rightful King of Scotland. 

Listen to the music