Reviewed by James Karas
Verdi’s Macbeth was last produced by the Canadian Opera Company in 2005 in its final season at the unmourned and unmissed Hummingbird Centre. The production left mixed memories but the farewell to the Hummingbird was sheer joy. The COC now has a marvellous new production of the opera with an impressive cast directed by David McVicar and under the baton of Speranza Scappucci.
Verdi famously thought that Macbeth had three roles: Lady Macbeth, Macbeth and the Chorus. You may disagree but he was not far wrong. I will pay homage to them in reverse order. The COC Chorus is a star in in the production. From the The Witches’ Chorus, to “Schiude, inferno” to “Patria oppressa” and the final rousing chorus they sing with beautiful lyricism, strength and triumphal sound. An outstanding Chorus at its best.
American baritone Quinn Kelsey sang an impressive Macbeth. We follow him from his first surprising encounter with the witches to his reluctant conversion into a murderer under the influence of his wife, to his transformation into an evil person and his final downfall. Macbeth never loses his humanity completely and I am ready to blame his wife regardless of his complicity and actions. In a stunning performance Kelsey shows the evil that overtakes Macbeth but also his innate reluctance to be consumed. He is consumed but his seeing Banquo’s ghost and fainting during the banquet scene show that there is another side to Macbeth. His vocal performance is superb as he negotiates through his emotional turmoil from victorious general, to ambitious and arrogant murderer and finally to a defeated human being.
Reviewing Bulgarian soprano Alexandrina Pendatchanska’s performance as Lady Macbeth poses a problem. We were advised that she was indisposed and we are honour-bound to respect and overlook any vocal issues. I don’t think we were short-changed because Pendatchanska did superb work in delivering Lady Macbeth’s vocal flourishes and she was convincing in the Mad Scene and in her display of ambition. The rest must be overlooked.
Turkish bass Onay Kose sang a sonorous Banquo, Macbeth’s friend who is murdered but appears at Macbeth’s celebratory dinner after the killing of the legitimate king. Canadian tenor Matthew Cairns as Macduff delivers “Ah la paterna mano” one of the most affecting arias on learning of the massacre of his wife and children.
David McVicar, one of the best directors in the business, directs this coproduction with the Chicago Lyric Opera. The scene opens in an abandoned and crumbling church where the witches are gathered. With some changes in detail the run-down church serves as the focal point of the production.
With Set Designer John Macfarlane and Costume Designer Moritz Junge, McVicar delivers a dark, bleak, menacing and horrific atmosphere. The bleakness of the world of Scotland is not relieved by anything until the last scene when the chorus sings praise to the new king and gives thanks to God for their deliverance from evil.
Speranza Scappucci conducted the COC Orchestra at a brisk and superb pace.
This is a marvelous production and one that is worth seeing.
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Macbeth by Giuseppe Verdi is being performed seven times on various dates until May 20, 2023, at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, 145 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario. www.coc.ca
James Karas is the Senior Editor - Culture of The Greek Press.
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