“Macbeth”: Giuseppe Verdi’s world-famous tragedy at the Sofia Opera
On the 25th, 26th, 27th, 28th of February and on the 1st of March, the Sofia Opera presents the impressive opera “Macbeth” by Giuseppe Verdi based on William Shakespeare’s tragedy of the same name.
According to Goethe, as he’s stated in front of Eckermann, his secretary, “Macbeth” is Shakespeare’s best play: “In it, the greatest understanding of the art of the stage is displayed.” Despite the attempts of some Shakespearian scholars to revise Goethe’s opinion, it persists, even today. “Macbeth” is Shakespeare’s shortest tragedy, with a clear and focused composition where the inevitability of the tragic outcome is prepositioned, like in an ancient Greek drama.
“Macbeth” is just one of the genius Italian’s brilliant operas. Without adhering to the status quo of his time, he composed music which illustrates the unfolding drama. Giuseppe Verdi wrote the opera “Macbeth” during the apogee of his creative life which he refers to as his “slavery years”. Between 1842 and 1853, Verdi created no less than seventeen operas starting with “Nabucco” and ending with “La Traviata”.
The first production of “Macbeth” at the Sofia Opera took place on 14.05.1974. Conductor was Asen Naidenov; director: Mihail Hadzhimishev; artist: Ani Hadzhimisheva. Starring: Yuliya Wiener, Margarita Radulova, Nikola Smochevski, Dimitar Petkov, Nikolai Stoilov and Stefan Elenkov, Lubomir Bodurov and others.