October, 2005 - Nr. 10
COC's Macbeth
by Amanda Tower
It’s the opera neophyte again. Last year, I received a ticket for Rigoletto, courtesy of a kind neighbour who happens to be editor of this publication. This year, I received two tickets to Macbeth. My friend and I had a very enjoyable time. Grandiose, exceptionally charming, and, well, the foremost word that comes to mind is creepy. This production was modern in setting, and while all the male characters wore kilts, female characters wore Victorian straight gowns, buttoned up (all the way up!) the back. The costuming was in keeping with the time in which the opera was written, not in which it was set.
Verdi wrote three operas based on Shakespeare’s plays, the first being Macbeth, followed by Othello and Falstaff. In 1847, Macbeth premiered as the boldest and most inventive opera Verdi had written; unsurprising, as extraordinary attention is placed on the interpretation of words through melody and orchestration.
Nicholas Muni stages this new COC production, while COC General Director Richard Bradshaw conducts. Award-winning designer Dany Lyne designed the sets and costumes to great effect.
Verdi’s Macbeth reaches deep into the human soul, following the murderous rise and fall of the title character, in his attempt to attain the Scottish throne. Muni and Lyne’s production combines social, political and psychological elements to bring together Shakespeare’s original tragedy.
Throughout the play the backdrop was spectacular: snow falling behind a single narrow panel set the tone of the hardships to come in this bleak and bleary landscape. The throne was attached to a suspended ceiling and was occasionally lowered to remind the audience of the opera’s main theme. This tactic was also highly effective in evoking a sense of unbalance and dislodgement.
The creepiness crept in throughout the show. The opening scene displays a coven of unnatural women, all dressed in grey, knitting balls of bright red yarn. The set was designed in tones of grey and red throughout, which made for a stark background. Grey kilts, red yarn; grey backdrop, red blood; silver-grey sword blades, red-covered plastic to indicate the slaughtered. More symbolism was utilized: instead of covering the actual couches on which the women were slaughtered, or the schoolbags denoting the murder of the innocents, with blood, the designers used clear plastic sheeting covered with slashes of red paint.
David Finn, who helped to design the COC’s ring cycle, complimented the dramatic production as lighting designer. The atmosphere was eerie, and was in keeping with the grey setting.
Perhaps the most moving scene throughout the play was when the people of Scotland stand behind the bloodied red panel and mourn their country. This scene immediately preceded the cast picking up branches of Burnam Wood and moving forward to meet and challenge their nemesis king.
As the audience was seated, and throughout the first two acts of the play, a row of school children were seated at the front of the stage, girls in jumpers, boys in kilts. As the play continued with its murderous theme, these children, with the exception of Fleance, Banquo’s young son, were replaced by bloodied school bags, to indicate the innocent slaughter of women and children by Macbeth and his wife.
As Lady Macbeth, Georgina Lukács, was slightly disappointing. The Hungarian soprano made her debut with the COC with this performance. While her voice was strong, it faltered in places, and as an actor she was occasionally unconvincing. However, her evocation of the power-hungry wife of Macbeth had its amazingly strong moments. Lying on a white couch, her hair streaming beside her onto the floor, Lukács presented a remarkable symbol of strength disengaged. Her descent into madness was less well represented by the ringing of her hands and the attempt to wipe away her blood than it was by a simple – or not-so-simple – costuming effect. During the cocktail party scene, Lady Macbeth is represented in full red and black plaid regalia, tucks and pin-ups, including her hairdo, in a taffeta craze. The effect was marvellous, and this scene she pulled off with great aplomb, convincing her husband to ignore the image of Banquo’s ghost.
The title role belongs to bass-baritone Pavlo Hunka, who returns for his third consecutive season with the COC. He played a traditional Macbeth, frightened and meek in all the right places. Mr. Hunka sang with great force of power and received considerable applause at the opera’s end.
Ensemble studio graduate tenor Roger Honeywell steals the show as Macduff. His sheer onstage power is enough to make the audience feel his emotions and his action through words brings a presence to his character that simply shines.
Turkish bass Burak Bigili, who played Raimondo in last season’s Lucia de Lammermoor, is the convincing, if somewhat stilted, haunter of Macbeth. The cocktail party in which his ghost appears is one of the highlights of the evening, and also demonstrates what Hunka (Macbeth) is capable of as an actor.
COC Ensemble Studio member tenors Victor Micallef and Joni Henson play, respectively, Malcolm and the Lady-in-Waiting
Canadian actor Christian Laurinis is the murdered Duncan and bass Cornelis Opthof, in his forty-sixth year with the COC, is the servant and doctor.
The opera is running until October 5th, and tickets can be ordered, also for Carmen and Rodelinda, by calling 416-872-2262 or online at www.ticketmaster.ca, or in person at the Hummingbird Centre. They run from $40-$175. Go to www.coc.ca for more information.
45 minutes prior to show time, 20-minute introductions to each opera are offered at the Hummingbird Centre free of charge.
