Review: WNO: Macbeth

This Welsh National Opera production of Verdi’s Macbeth constantly teeters on the edge of parody, yet on those occasions when its inventiveness really comes off it offers tantalising glimpses of a brave new and re-imagined operatic world that can reveal new truths in the most familiar of works. This Macbeth sometimes seems silly, but is never dull and frequently exhilarating.

The music and the singing are exceptional. The orchestra revel in Verdi’s melodies and respond to every nuance of Andriy Yurkevych’s muscular conducting. Luis Cansino as Macbeth grows in menace and stage presence throughout the opera: he and Banquo (Miklos Sebestyen) are first depicted as freedom fighters, living in the woods and wearing bullet-proof vests.

They are seasoned soldiers used to the business of killing, and this staging suggests soldiering has been ‘clean’, guilt-free violence for Macbeth and has done nothing to prepare him for the new style of blood-letting he is about to adopt.

Both are commanding performers with sensational voices. Bruce Sledge as Macduff is equally impressive but the standout actor, singer and character for this one Bristol performance was Mary Elizabeth Williams as Lady Macbeth (her last night in the role before being replaced by Miriam Murphy for the remaining dates of WNO’s autumn season).

She flounced about the stage, flirting with the audience and blowing kisses as she twisted Macbeth’s ambition to her will. By the time she became his queen she had acquired a wardrobe full of fur coats and as many pairs of shoes as Imelda Marcos. An intriguing and revealing reinterpretation of Macbeth’s Lady. And she does have the most fabulous voice.

But WNO are famous – some would say infamous – for pushing boundaries, and it is up to each individual member of the audience to decide how long they stick with the company’s vision.

There are plenty of moments in Macbeth where the audience might decide to get off the ride. Predictably there aren’t the regular three witches here, but instead a whole stage full dressed in three different ways. Some seem to be sinister woodland nymphs, others deformed zombies with shaven heads, while the main eight wear false hunch-backs with long grey hair.

The second time they appear to Macbeth they’re wearing his queen’s fur coats and perform a brief strip-show bump-and-grind routine. Now they’re carrying plastic shopping bags. Inside the bags are baby dolls, the arms of which the witches snap off in time to Verdi’s music.

That might have been the moment where some would decide WNO had taken a step too far, but then the opera drops its gimmicks to concentrate on its core strengths for the concluding scenes: the pure and lovely power of its music and song. Lady Macbeth’s sleep-walk is played entirely straight, as is Macbeth’s brooding contemplation of his final battle – and both are the better for it.

Finally, as the curtain falls, the cast burst into a surprise, impromptu version of Happy Birthday for Andriy Yurkevych. They all go for broke during their last few moments on stage but, again, no-one can hold a candle to Mary Elizabeth Williams whose spectacular voice soars above all others’.

Welsh National Opera continue at the Hippodrome with Kiss Me, Kate (Thur Oct 13-Sat Oct 15). For more info and to book tickets, visit www.atgtickets.com/venues/bristol-hippodrome