Shakespeare's bloodiest tragedy sung by opera's most terrifying power couple.
Claude D'Anna's film of Verdi's Macbeth is a gloomy affair, stressing the descent into madness of the principal villains. It's acted by the singers of the Decca recording of the opera (with two substitutions of actors standing in for singers) and the lip-synching is generally unobtrusive. The musical performance is superb, conducted by Riccardo Chailly with admirable fire, and sung by some of the leading lights of the opera stages of the 1980s. Shirley Verrett virtually owned the role of Lady Macbeth at the time, and she delivers a terrific performance, the voice equal to the role's wide register leaps and it's suffused with emotion, whether urging her husband on to murder or maddened by guilt in the Sleepwalking Scene. Leo Nucci's resonant Macbeth may lack the ultimate in vocal color and steadiness (his last notes of the great aria Pietà, rispetto, amore are wobbly) but he compensates with intensity in both singing and acting.
Acting
Shirley Verrett's Sleepwalking Scene will haunt your dreams.
Direction
D'Anna's gloomy descent into madness visuals hit different.
Score
Chailly conducts with fire that matches the tragedy.
Director
Claude d'Anna
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Two roles use actors lip-synching to the singers—a practical solution that occasionally distracts from Verrett and Nucci's fully committed performances.
This 1987 film captures the peak of 1980s operatic stardom before the era of HD live broadcasts changed how audiences consumed opera.
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