Reviewed by Jodi Yeats

An Opera North production staged by the NBR New Zealand Opera

This production of Verdi’s opera Macbeth really brings a top-notch international opera to a New Zealand audience in all its grandeur.

While the 1865 opera is not one of Verdi’s best known operas (La Traviata, Rigoletto, Il Trovatore, Aida) it is still fabulous.

In my opinion, the ghosts and witches are the best features of Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Verdi has really camped it up, with the witches onstage most of the time and , wonderfully, ghosts abounding.

The spooky ominous mood of Macbeth is evoked in costumes by Brigitte Reiffenstuel that are mainly in grey, sage and black, with a little splash of blood red.

The era appears to be around World War Two, with the utilitarian women’s dresses appearing quite westernised, while the men’s costumes look Russian.

The set, designed by Johan Engels, is truly huge, with a large curved wall that singers can walk part-way up, or perch on, and which has a door that opens at one point to form an eerily lit tomb for the murdered King Duncan.

Lighting (Bruno Poet) enhances the bleak atmosphere and evokes wintry Scotland. Bare trees onstage cast tall shadows that portend the climactic moment when Birnam Wood will march against Macbeth’s troops.

The two leads are outstandingly good, with Lady Macbeth (Italian Antonia Cifrone) never struggling for a high note, or any note at all, and Macbeth (Romanian Michele Kalmandi) filling the theatre with his gorgeous baritone voice.

The music is simply lovely and importing conductor Guido Ajmone-Marsan, a Verdi expert, appears to be a good move bringing the best out of Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra this week, and no doubt in future the same will be true of the Vector Wellington Orchestra.

Special mention must be made of a smashing Macduff (Russian Roman Shulackoff) who not only usurps Macbeth in the play, but for a moment threatened to in this production of the opera, with an incredible song in the final act after his wife and children have been murdered.

Verdi’s music for the chorus is heavenly and the New Zealand crew do it justice. The opera also offers New Zealand singers an opportunity to showcase their work, with Jud Arthur in a major role as Banquo.
While it could be a disappointing for the foreign stars that the Aotea Centre offers a less than ideal opera venue, especially with challenging acoustics, it doesn’t detract from the impressive production for the audience. I wouldn’t be surprised if the St James Theatre worked better though.

Choreography by associate director and movement director Maxine Braham is another treat with the chorus all moving beautifully and the leads acting strongly at the same time as singing so well.

Bravo to director Tim Albery for realising Opera North’s UK production so well for the enjoyment of a New Zealand audience.

Auckland
Aotea Centre, The EDGE
23 and 25 September at 7.30pm

Wellington
St James Theatre
9, 14, 16 October at 7.30pm
12 October at 6pm