Verdi came to Shakespeare through Italian
translation and had never seen Macbeth on
stage when he wrote his first version of the opera
in 1847. Giorgio Melchiori draws a parallel
between the conditions in which the playwright
and the composer were working and compares
their achievements. The supernatural was a
vital element in both conceptions: the opera
is “in the fantastic style”, with bizarre music
for the witches’ dances and choruses. Theatre
historian Michael Booth vividly introduces
the staging of Shakespeare in the nineteenth
century. Harold Powers discusses how the
dramatic situations lent themselves to the
forms and purposes of Italian opera.
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'Brilliantly produced and superb value.'
Sunday Times
'All these will provide the new opera-goer with food for thought.'
Daily Telegraph
'Wholehearted recommendation of this valuable new series.'
TLS
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