Verdi - Macbeth / Welser-Most, Hampson, Marrocu, Zurich Opera
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Liuba Chuchrova, Paoletta Marrocu, Thomas HampsonDVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Classical, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 139 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2002-11-26
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Image Entertainment
Movie Reviews of Verdi - Macbeth / Welser-Most, Hampson, Marrocu, Zurich Opera
Movie Review: Macbeth meets Farscape
Summary: 3 Stars
Let me first off say the set here definitely crosses the line over to Euro-trash. I actually liked the costumes and I don't really mind an unearthly feel to a set, but when the blood of Duncan is green slime - that's just going too far. Also, the table at the banquet is a box with dirt in it and a sheet covering, which is then turned into something the witches are making their brew in for the next scene and dead bodies sit up out of these table-dirt-holder-things. Just a little too much weirdness. The witches seemed to be ladies from an insane asylum - that's the way they acted and were dressed, I thought, but possibly that's not at all what the producers had in mind. Some people might find that a bit weird too, but it actually worked okay for me.
The direction was sometimes retarded and at turns brilliant. For instance when Macbeth and his lady are discussing the blood and how to get rid of it, they begin touching each other and rubbing the green slime all over each other's arms - retarded. However, Macbeth and his lady are protrayed as a young, lustful, and childish pair, which really worked. Paoletta Marrocu is a fantastic-looking Lady Macbeth, pretty, voluptuous, but believeably evil. During the banquet scene, they have both been drinking and she pours wine all over the table as though she loves being decadent and she also pours some on her guests as though she loves having them in her power and they just have to take what she dishes (or rather pours) out. As she sings and acts up, Macbeth laughs along with her as though she is the life of the party. I really liked this direction - it seemed to work well.
All the acting was quite good, particularly Hampson and Marrocu and Hampson looked great too.
The singing: Hampson is surprisingly good. He seems to make his voice a bit darker than usual and it's quite beautiful. I found no terrible desire for a more dramatic voice which I did expect to, but he was exceedingly pleasant to listen to. Marrocu was good enough with a good-sized voice and a timber that has a bit of evil in it, however she was a bit weak in the lower range. Her coloratura is quite acceptable. Scandiuzzi has a beautiful voice and he is in excellent form on this video - best ever from him, and he's often quite good. Lima is a little nasal for my taste but quite acceptable and very passionate as MacDuff.
Too bad about the sets - otherwise a decent show.
Summary of Verdi - Macbeth / Welser-Most, Hampson, Marrocu, Zurich Opera
This hard-edged postmodern production of Giuseppe Verdi's haunting masterpiece brings the story of Shakespeare's bloody tragedy to vivid life, characterized by spine-tingling atmospherics and a triumphant debut by American baritone Thomas Hampson in the title role. This Zurich Opera House production also features a mesmerizing turn by Paoletta Marrocu as the beautiful, power-hungry Lady Macbeth, while striking sets and costumes further enhance the duality of the main character whose rise and fall mirror the darkest impulses of man. Replete with supernatural mystery, sexual tension, and violent power plays, this timeless story remains gripping and chilling for today's audiences and boasts some of the most astonishing music of Verdi's legendary body of work. Conducted by Franz Welser-Most.Musically, this is an exemplary Macbeth. Visually, it is a matter of personal taste, but director David Pountney, who has a flair for unconventional staging (see, for example, his Rusalka) gives it a strong, concentrated visual impact with overtones that send the mind spinning in many directions. The chorus of witches, which is seen right at the beginning and later at intervals, has a wild variety of costumes and makeup and might be mistaken for the inhabitants of an old-fashioned insane asylum. The power of superstition (or perhaps of the supernatural) is one of this opera's primary subtexts, and it's presented with eerie impact, including a mummified corpse that refuses to lie still. Costumes are generally but not exclusively modern.
Thomas Hampson and Paoletta Marrocu score equally well as singers and actors, and neither tries to prettify the character. They are ably supported, most notably by Roberto Scanduzzi (who manages to look spooky as Banquo's ghost with a jacket and necktie) and Luis Lima, a fire-breathing Macduff. Franz Welser-Most conducts with a keen ear for dramatic tension. --Joe McLellan
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