Anna Netrebko devours the stage whole. Verdi + Shakespeare = operatic carnage.
As per tradition, the 2021/22 season opened in December at La Scala in Milan, this time with a new production of Giuseppe Verdi's 'Macbeth' directed by Davide Livermore and conducted by Riccardo Chailly. Verdi's Shakespeare drama features a star-studded cast: Anna Netrebko and Luca Salsi embody the regicide Macbeth and his lady.
Acting
Netrebko's Lady M: volcanic, then shattered, unforgettable.
Direction
Livermore's digital hellscape — Dunsinane as eternal inferno.
Score
Chailly's La Scala orchestra: precision meets primal terror.
Director
Arnalda Canali
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Verdi was obsessed with Shakespeare's rhythm — he insisted singers not hold high notes past the beat, preserving the dialogue's forward drive.
La Scala's December opening is Italy's most politically charged cultural event; Livermore's dystopian Macbeth premiered during pandemic restrictions, with masked aristocrats in the audience mirroring the opera's plague of ambition.
IT
