Scottish Opera's Macbeth @ King's Theatre (Edinburgh)

For a relatively inexperienced opera-goer, the pared-back darkness of Dominic Hill’s Macbeth is an incredibly bracing experience. From the moment you catch glimpse of a set that is faintly military in sparseness behind a large white sheet hung across the stage, the sense of this work is heavily apparent. Brought to life by Scottish Opera, the troubling tale of Macbeth’s rise and fall rings out forcefully from this bunker-like room, whose walls see untold violence, indecision and madness over the course of the 2 hour and 40 minute run. The artistry of Verdi’s decadent score is in dramatic tension with Dominic Hill’s somewhat heavy-handed aesthetic – from the use of candles to the blood the witches spread triumphantly across the walls as they wait for Macbeth.

Although the weak points in this macabre retelling of one of Shakespeare’s most beloved tales are painfully apparent, there are brilliant moments of tenderness as well, such as when the servant lights candles to honour the dead or when Lady Macbeth persuades Macbeth to follow his dark destiny. The show features some truly magnificent operatic performances, the most notable being Elisabeth Meister’s Lady Macbeth, whose madness is as perfectly pitched as her solos, and whose histrionic influence over Macbeth functions as his downfall. Macduff is performed with similar skill and nuance, his character is both hearty and likeable throughout the entirety of the performance, although the same could not be said of the one-dimensional performances given by the three witches. 

This performance of Macbeth can be shocking in its force when it succeeds, but when it falters, the misdirected stage work is palpable, drawing attention to its generous run time. The scene in which Macbeth slays Banquo lacks any tension or purpose, and Hill’s bizarre use of child actors throughout the piece is most noticeable when Macbeth glimpses Banquo’s family through a door which seems intended to denote the boundary between the earthly realm and that of heaven. The image of somber children in grey pyjamas is confusing at best and overwrought at worst. Although there is little that could take away from Verdi’s stunning score, or the excellence with which it is executed, this particular performance of Macbeth seems a mixed bag, that doesn't do its composer, writer and director justice. [Dale Neuringer]