Verdi and his wife,
Giuseppina went, as usual, to Genoa for the winter of 1863-1864.
There were to be trips to Turin when Verdi’s attendance was
required at the National Parliament to which he had been elected
after encouragement from Cavour. Whilst in Genoa Verdi was visited
by his Paris representative Léon Escudier who informed him that
Paris’s Théâtre Lyrique had enquired if the composer would write
ballet music for insertion into his Macbeth of 1847,
for performance at the theatre. Later, when a formal approach
was made, Verdi’s response was more than Escudier could have
hoped for, indicating that the composer wished to undertake
a radical revision, in French, of the opera he had written eighteen
years before. Verdi’s proposals for the revised Macbeth included
new arias for Lady Macbeth in act 2 with the conventional two
verse Triofonai securo being replaced by La Luce langue
(CD 2 tr. 3), its chromaticism in his later style. He also made
substantial alterations to act 3 including a duet for Macbeth
and Lady Macbeth (ora di morte) as well as the additional,
de rigueur for Paris, ballet (CD 3 trs. 2-4). Verdi also composed
a new chorus at start of act 4 (Patria oppressa. CD 3
tr. 8) and replaced Macbeth’s death scene with the final Inno
de Victoria (CD 3 tr. 14).
Verdi did not attend
the premiere on 21 April 1865 which met with mixed success as
it did in Italian translation elsewhere. Audiences had become
used to the sonorities of Un Ballo in Maschera and La
Traviata and the unrevised parts of the work do stand out
in their relative musical immaturity, harking back to the Risorgimento
operas. It is in this revised form that the opera is performed,
in Italian, in the present day, sometimes with the re-insertion
of Macbeth’s death scene, although that is not so in this recording.
This reissue enters
a very competitive mid-price market dominated by double CD re-issues
conducted by Abbado and Muti. Abbado’s recording followed a
widely acclaimed 1975 La Scala production by Giorgio Strehler.
With the La Scala theatre not available, DG used the part completed
Centro Telicinematografico Culturale in Milan in January 1976
to produce a warm yet detailed acoustic. Abbado’s conducting
is idiomatic and vibrant and sets a theatrical benchmark for
his soloists. As the queen, Shirley Verrett is smoky-toned and
musically correct, perhaps lacking a little of the vocal wildness
that Verdi had in mind and specified for the role. Cappuccilli
as Macbeth is characterful and expressive, just the odd moment
of dry tone intruding. Ghiaurov’s bass is a rock-solid tower
of strength whilst Domingo as Macduff sings an eloquent lament
for his lost family in a vocally commanding performance (DG
Originals 449 732-2). Muti’s recording was made in London the
following July with the Ambrosian Opera Chorus being altogether
more vibrant and involved than their La Scala rivals. But the
strength of this performance is the superbly characterised singing
of Fiorenza Cossotto as a very Italianate Queen of idiomatic
inflection and power. Although her partner, Sherrill Milnes’s
Macbeth lacks a little Italianata his portrayal is full-voiced
and well characterised with many felicitous vocal details.
It is into this
competitive milieu that this mid-price reissue enters, perpetuating
its earlier three disc full-price format. Immediately the question
arises whether the virtues of the performance or recording justify
the price premium compared to the DG and EMI issues detailed
above. Well, it is an all-digital recording, which just
about describes its major virtues. Renato Bruson is a superb
vocal characteriser but he is no match for Cappuccilli for Abbado
whose true Verdi baritone voice can call on greater resources
of colour to complement his characterisation. Twenty-four or
more years or so on from the original recording, Bruson’s legato
and firmness of vocal emission would be very welcome in a period
with a dearth of Verdi baritones. But in the competition from
both DG and EMI one has to say that his interpretation is just
not in the running. As to his Lady, I can find few virtues in
her singing, let alone in comparison with her rivals. I believe
that at the time she was a replacement for the stronger-voiced
and more characterful Ghena Dimitrova’s with whom the conductor
had differences. If that was the case it is a pity, as Dimitrova’s
Lady, characterful and strongly sung, is not represented on
any official recording. Although Verdi said he did not want
a beautiful voice for Lady Macbeth, he surely would have wanted
more than the sparse characterisation and colourless tone provided
here by Maria Zampieri. Robert Lloyd as Banquo is steady but
is no rival to Ghiaurov for Abbado whilst Schicoff is strong
but somewhat monochromic and penny plain.
Giuseppe Sinopoli
on the rostrum doesn’t dissect the score, and then reconstruct
it in his own manner, as he did in his recording of Nabucco.
That being said his interpretation and treatment of Verdi’s
cantilena are not those I recognise from other interpretations,
not least, but not only, those from his Italian rivals mentioned
above. The all-digital recording is nothing special as would
tilt my view of the lack of any particular virtue in this release.
Robert J Farr
Macbeth - Renato
Bruson (bar); Lady Macbeth - Maria Zampieri (sop); Banquo - Robert
Lloyd (bass); Macduff - Neil Schicoff (ten); Malcolm - Claes H Ahnsjö
(ten); Lady in Waiting - Lucia Aliberti (sop); Doctor - Pietteri
Salomaa (bass)
