Home > Macbeth Verdi, G. (1813-1901) Macbeth Composed 1846-1847; revised 1864-1865. First performed March 14, 1847; April 21, 1865. Libretto by Francesco Maria Piave (in Itarian), after Shakespeare. A Summary of “Macbeth” Act 1 In 1040, in Scotland, Macbeth and Banquo who serve the king of Scotland, Duncan, meet a group of witches in the wilderness. The witches tell Macbeth that Macbeth will be Lord of Cawdor, and will be King of Scotland. The witches tell Banquo that Banquo will be the father of kings. Then, a messenger arrives in front of two men. He communicates the news that Lord of Cawdor died, and King of Scotland has made Macbeth the successor. The witches’ prediction has come true. Lady Macbeth reads a letter from her husband, and knows the witches’ prediction. That night just, King of Scotland stays at the castle of Macbeth. Lady Macbeth persuades her husband to kill King of Scotland, and Macbeth eventually stabs King to death with a dagger. The blood of King sticks to the hands of Lady Macbeth, too. Act 2 Macbeth attempts to kill both Banquo and his son. But, Banquo’s son succeeds to run away. Macbeth inaugurates as King of Scotland, but he is frightened of the ghost of Banquo. One of subordinates, Macduff, looks this reality and decides to leave the country. Act 3 Macbeth visits the witches again. The witches give him some prediction, for example, he should be cautious of Macduff. Macbeth kills Macduff’s wife and children. Act 4 Lady Macbeth couldn’t wash her hands that are sticked by blood. She dies in a frenzy of fear. The troops of Macduff and the children of the predecessor of King carry the attack to Macbeth. They succeed to kill Macbeth and to take revenge. A Comment on “Macbeth” This opera, “Macbeth,” is composed by Giuseppe Verdi. He composed the first opera to be based on a Shakespeare drama. The originals of “Macbeth,” “Othello,” and “Falstaff” that are composed by Verdi are Shakespeare’s dramas. Verdi likes Shakespeare dramas, he put the complete works of Shakespeare by his bed. After Verdi succeeded with his opera, “Nabucco,” he worked even harder. Then, he visits a hot spring resort, and deals with composition of his new opera, “Macbeth,” seriously. The world premiere of this opera was a great success, Verdi was called up to the stage thirty eight times. The leading character of this opera, Macbeth, was an actual person. Macbeth reigns Scotland from 1041 to 1057. In the opera, Macbeth is described as a weak person. He wavers between hope and fear over the witches’ predictions. And, he is upset by the murder he commits. However, I think that Macbeth in this opera is more humanly than the actual Macbeth. Verdi and Shakespeare created the character to be greater than the actual person. One of this opera’s characteristics is the dark world, for example, witch, negative prophecies, and murder. Verdi gives directions for maintaining utmost dark stage. And, the leading character, Macbeth, isn’t sung by a tenor. In fact, there was not excellent tenor in the opera house in the world premiere of this opera. Verdi gives this title role to Briton. Briton can express deeply, and can convey his feelings to an audience. Macbeth sings the famous aria, “Pieta, rispetto, amore (Compassion, honour, love).” Gluck, C. W. (1714-1787) 　- Orpheus and Eurydice Mozart, W. A. (1756-1791) 　- The Marriage of Figaro 　- Don Giovanni 　- Cosi fan tutte 　- The Magic Flute Beethoven, L. v. (1770-1827) 　- Fidelio Weber, C. M. v. (1786-1826) 　- The Magic Bullets Rossini, G. (1792-1868) 　- The Barber of Seville Donizetti, G. (1797-1848) 　- The Elixir of Love Verdi, G. (1813-1901) 　- Macbeth 　- Rigoletto 　- Il trovatore 　- La Traviata 　- Un ballo in maschera 　- Don Carlo 　- Aida 　- Otello 　- Falstaff Wagner, R. (1813-1883) 　- The Flying Dutchman 　- Tannhauser 　- Lohengrin 　- Tristan und Isolde 　- Die Meistersinger von Nuernberg 　- The Rhinegold 　- Die Walkure 　- Siegfried 　- Twilight of the Gods 　- Parsifal Offenbach, J. (1819-1880) 　- The Tales of Hoffmann Strauss, J. (1825-1899) 　- Die Fledermaus (The Bat) Bizet, G. (1838-1875) 　- Carmen Tchaikovsky, P. J. (1840-1893) 　- Eugene Onegin Massenet, J. (1842-1912) 　- Werther Humperdinck, E. (1854-1921) 　- Hansel and Gretel Puccini, G. (1858-1924) 　- La Boheme 　- Tosca 　- Madama Butterfly 　- Turandot Leoncavallo, R. (1858-1919) 　- Pagliacci Mascagni, P. (1863-1945) 　- Cavalleria Rusticana Debussy, C. (1862-1918) 　- Pelleas et Melisande Strauss, R. (1864-1949) 　- Salome 　- The Cavalier of the Rose Copyright (C) 2005-2014 Yusuke Kamiki. All Rights Reserved.