Verdi - Macbeth (The Metropolitan Opera HD Live Series)

The Metropolitan Opera's acclaimed Live in High-Definition series, which projects live performances into theaters across the globe, has met with unprecedented critical and commercial success and has made opera convenient and affordable to millions of viewers worldwide. Now, EMI Classics is proud to collaborate with The Met to release 6 new DVDs made from these broadcast performances.

A new production of Verdi's haunting opera by English director Adrian Noble, conducted by James Levine, and starring Andrea Gruber, Roberto Aronica, and Lado Ataneli. Hailed by the New York Times as "stylistically eclectic, grimly effective and, at times, intriguingly playful."

Verdi’s admiration for Shakespeare led to such masterpieces as Othello and Falstaff, and if the earlier Macbeth isn’t on their exalted level it’s still a powerfully dramatic opera that hews closely to the original’s story line. The MET’s production retains the dark aura of the opera while updating it to a vaguely post-modern context. So the witches are bag ladies in various stages of decrepitude, with children in tow. The Banquet Scene features lowered chandeliers, a plethora of chairs, and a slew of extras dressed in tuxedos and party gowns. Macbeth sports a leather coat, the soldiers are in drab brown uniforms and seem to have fingers on their triggers even when they’re supposed to be in non-threatening situations. Director Adrian Noble also has Lady Macbeth do an inordinate amount of writhing around and singing from a lying-down position, adding to the feeling that a less interventionist directorial hand might have generated more impact. Mark Thompson designed the sets and costumes, making a leafless forest an integral background to both outdoor and indoor scenes. Movable pillars contract or expand the spaces in which the action takes place. Video director Gary Halvorson keeps his cameras moving with plenty of close-ups and odd angles, which accentuate the weirdness of the situations and the entrapment of the main characters in their greed and murderous ambition.

The Macbeth couple offer some of the juiciest leading roles in all of opera. Lady Macbeth is well done by Maria Guleghina, whose big voice and stage presence are pluses here. If her intonation is sometimes dubious and her high notes occasionally curdle she does project the role well, especially when cajoling her indecisive husband to murder. He’s sung by Zeljko Lucic, whose sturdy baritone is sufficient to inhabit an acting and singing performance of considerable power. Banquo is sung beautifully by bass John Relyea, and Macduff is well done by tenor Dimtri Pittas. But the MET chorus and orchestra, under the fiery baton of James Levine, are the real heroes of the performance, their contributions enhanced by lively sound that distinguishes this High Definition DVD. Dan Davis

Macbeth is an all-regions HD disc in 16:9 ratio. Sound options include PCM Stereo and DTS 5.1 Surround. Extras include interview material with MET director Peter Gelb, conductor James Levine, and the principal singers and stage director Adrian Noble. Sung in Italian, subtitles include English, French, German, Italian and Spanish.