Macbeth, a bloody tale of political mayhem

Genesis Energy Season of Macbeth
NBR New Zealand Opera
With the Chapman Tripp Opera Chorus
An Opera North production; Sung in Italian with English surtitles

Wellington – St James Theatre
October 9 - 16

David Garratt and Rodney Hide could well have written the script for Verdi’s Macbeth. The combination of personal power struggles, moral debate and the small events from our past coming back to haunt one are all too familiar political themes. They are the major themes of Macbeth in which a man and his wife, impelled by prophesies that predict he will have greatness thrust upon him, decides to take that greatness by force.

The opera, which premiered two weeks ago in Auckland, brings together politics and the personal lust for power. These are the qualities of many great people but when it is combined with belief that one is divinely inspired – a feature of many of the worst rulers including men like Hitler – then power does not just corrupt, it destroys.

The final scene of the opera makes reference to the demise of Adolf Hitler with Macbeth and Lady Macbeth laid out on the stage. They are then doused in petrol and one of the witches prepares to light the pyre as the curtain descends.

Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are driven by personal greed for power and status. They are inspired by witches or fates and they understand that such prophesies do not come from Heaven but rather the darker reaches of the next world.

In accepting what has been prophesied they give over their lives to the Fates. They allow themselves to commit evil deeds, opting out of the moral issues by accepting it that was happens has been foretold.

The opening scene of the opera presents the audience with the recurring image of a bed. This is the site of many births and many deaths. It is reminiscent of the early works of the artist Seraphine Pick where beds were the associated with sex, death and dreams

In this scene we are presented with two intertwined symbolic occurrences. A woman gives birth surrounded by figures, The Fates, who are dressed in long gowns, something between medical orderlies and cleaning ladies – both occupations which clean up the mess. A child is born but then seems to be deposited in a bin.

The woman giving birth could be the mother of Macduff (having her caesarean birth) or it could, be Lady Macbeth having a still born child.

The Macduff birth lets us in on the puzzle about Macbeth not able to be harmed by a man 'born of woman.'

The notion that Lady Macbeth has had a child which did not live gives an additional reason for her to be cold and calculating with no compunction about killing other people, including children.

Lady Macbeth is more dominant than in the original Shakespeare play. Of all the dictators wives she comes close to a combination of Eva Person and Madame Mao, a mixture of the concerned, hectoring and malevolent wife.

Antonia Cifrone as Lady Macbeth sings with a fierce voice. Her arias combine harsh and chilling sounds flecked with hints of sensuality, although a greater degree of the sensual would have helped create a more complex character.

Michele Kalmandi as Macbeth has a voice which is by turns exalting, commanding and aggressive. Underlying the solid conviction of his voice is an apprehension and desperation that continually seeps through.

Jud Arthur as Banquo gave an outstanding performance, his duos with Macbeth (both dead and alive) provided evidence of both their companionship and the disintegration of their friendship.

Singing the part of Macduff, Roman Shulackoff had a powerful presence with his muscular voice and compelling acting. Derek Hall gave the part of Malcolm urgency with his precise singing

The largely monochrome sets are impressive, picked out occasionally with the huge stains of blood on the bed or the shirts of the dead and their assassins.

The three witches sang impressively but the decision to give them stick-on beards introduced a level of the comic which undercut their malevolence.

The Chapman Tripp Opera Chorus as ever was exceptional and for much of the opera the women’s chorus sit along the edge of the action calmly knitting out the web of life.

While Verdi’s music is not the most memorable of his works, the opera sweeps along with fast paced action and vigorous music which provides an emotional framework for the grueling tale of murder and mayhem.