Macbeth in HD 2026
The Met televised Verdi’s Macbeth for the third time in its Live in HD series today. This time the production was a new look at the opera by Louisa Proske. It opened the current season last month. The opera has recently been getting a lot of attention from the Met considering that it didn’t perform it for the first time until 1959.
Of the 15 or 16 operas (the number depends on whether you count the rewrite of I Lombardi he did for Paris as a separate opera) he wrote before Rigoletto four are masterpieces – Nabucco, Ernani, Macbeth, and Luisa Miller. Of these four Macbeth is the most interesting. It was written in 1847 and revised in 1865. Thus it is a product of both Verdi’s early and middle periods.
Verdi considered the opera to hinge on Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, and the witches. Instead of Shakespeare’s three witches, Verdi added a division of them divided into three battalions. Despite Verdi’s insistence on their importance, the witches are mainly a distraction that is hard for an English speaker familiar with Shakespeare’s play to take seriously. The exception is their appearance in Act 3 where the apparitions deliver their prophecies about Macbeth’s fate which turn out to be weaselly. They then show Macbeth a long succession of Banquo’s descendants as kings of Scotland.
If the witches are a distraction, they’re really annoying when they’re inserted in every scene, which is what director Proske did. Add the ubiquitous witches to the revolving sets that are mostly dark gray to dark green and the general feeling of the production is depressing. Its success depends on the singers.
In the 2014 telecast, Anna Netrebko was spectacular as the power-mad Lady. That’s what Verdi called her – Lady. In this production Lise Davidsen displayed a beautiful, big voice but made no attempt to act or depict Lady’s inner evil. She had all the notes, but none of the excitement inherent in the character. Blandness was all. ‘Vieni! t’affretta!!’ and ‘La luce langue’ were delivered with all the intensity of an automated weather report. The same was true of the sleepwalking scene.
Quin Kelsey was just the opposite as the nobleman who succumbs to the lust for power. His voice is right for the part even allowing that it’s not as powerful as some of the great baritones who have played Macbeth at the Met. He depicted all the complex emotions that drive Macbeth to murder and tyranny while acting the usurper as well as his stout body permitted. He got just about all the menace and nuance Verdi wrote into the part.
The smaller parts were played with distinction. Ryan Speedo Green received some bad reviews as Banquo. I thought he did well and sang his Act 2 aria ‘Come dal ciel precipita’ with a smooth and urgent voice – a fine job. Freddie De Tommaso, who’s main job is to sing the great aria ‘Ah, la paterna mano’ with beauty and force, did just that. He was a casting coup – getting a major tenor to sing a minor role.
There was dancing in the opera. Some of the witches performed mostly silly walks. I must concede, though, that the three male dancers were quite acrobatic and vigorous. Dancing in the opera house almost always finishes out of the money.
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the Met’s music director conducted his outstanding orchestra with vigor and dramatic insight. He fully understood the great scenes Verdi had written into his first engagement with Shakespeare.
Video Director Gary Halvorson again used too many close-ups given all the activity going on in this production. This performance is good enough to warrant a trip to the encore presentation next week. But if you really want to see and hear a masterful portrayal of Verdi’s wicked queen try to find a video of Netrebko’s 2014 performance. It’s a masterpiece. And what did she get for it? She was fired by Met General Manager Peter Gelb for being too Russian during the start of the war in Ukraine. Gelb then went on to hire a series of Russian singers of far less distinction than that of Netrebko.
Verdi: Macbeth
Metropolitan Opera, New York — October 17, 2026
The Met: Live in HD
Cast
Macbeth — Quinn Kelsey
Lady Macbeth — Lise Davidsen
Banquo — Ryan Speedo Green
Macduff — Freddie De Tommaso
Malcolm — Jonathan Burton
Lady-in-Waiting — Marcy Stonikas
Doctor — Bradley Garvin
Servant — Jeongcheol Cha
Murderer — Christopher Job
Herald — Yohan Yi
Fleance — Tāwhana Smith-McDaniel
First Apparition (Warrior) — Alan Williams
Second Apparition (Bloody Child) — Jazmine Saunders
Third Apparition (Crowned Child) — Timothy Choi
Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus
Musical and Production Team
Conductor — Yannick Nézet-Séguin
Production and Stage Direction — Louisa Proske
Set Designer — Jon Bausor
Costume Designer — Montana Levi Blanco
Lighting Designer — Adam Silverman
Choreographer — Jorrell Lawyer-Jefferson
Action Director — Ran Arthur Braun
Chorus Director — Tilman Michael
Telecast
Video Director — Gary Halvorson
Host — Anthony Roth Costanzo
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