One of the great parts of presenting an opera as multi-layered as Verdi’s “Macbeth” is the discussions during the tea breaks at rehearsals! We shared a well-earned cuppa with our Lady Macbeth, Beatrice Danesfield, and discovered she has an unusual theory about her character’s motivation. Beatrice believes that Lady Macbeth’s behaviour possibly comes from boredom rather than ingrained evil.
She explains further: “Lady Macbeth is a sharper and brighter person than anyone else in the mediaeval castle. She is not manipulative by nature, but things don’t get done if she doesn’t set them off and see to the details. (Ed’s note: we know how that feels. don’t we ladies?)
“She is married to a man who could do so much better, if he only had a backbone and a vision for the future. She sees a marvellous opportunity occur – to become queen – and it is so easy to make it happen. The old king is already a guest in her castle, killing him is such an obvious thing to do, isn’t that what the prophecy implies anyway? Her husband hasn’t got he guts to do it, and he is so SLOW. So, she grabs the dagger, comes back in a few seconds, job done, just wash the hands, and “opra anchessa andra in oblio”.
“Now, she finally has something important to do. She feels in control. The damp, grey castle is suddenly alive. The second murder brings her and her husband back together, as she remembers how she married him because of his courage: “Ah, ricognosco il tuo coraggio antico”. At last, they set off to do something together, like a marriage counsellor would have told them to do.”
Now, I’m not sure most marriage counsellors would sanction murder as relationship therapy, but we see the point, Beatrice!
To discover more about Lady Macbeth’s motivations, book your tickets NOW for Verdi’s “Macbeth” at St James Piccadilly this Saturday, 24 October 2009. There are still a few seats left at our special online booking price of £15, so snap yours up before they are all gone!
English Opera Singers 