Krystian Lada at Theater St Gallen prepares Macbeth
Krystian Lada, who most recently directed the ‘Oper! Award-winning premiere of Lili Elbe, explores the question of how people make decisions and the consequences of ambition and thirst for power in his production of Macbeth.
The witches' prophecy promises Macbeth a glorious future: he is to become King of Scotland. This triggers an insatiable lust for power in Macbeth and his lady. Lady Macbeth urges her husband to take fate into his own hands, even if it means spilling blood. But the ruling couple are shaken by guilt, fall into madness and ultimately become victims of their own ambition.
With Shakespeare's dark tragedy about the deadly struggle for power and even madness, Verdi chose a model that was daring for the operatic practice of the time due to its cruel content, lack of a love story and tenor hero. However, the result is a gripping opera that explores how guilt is dealt with and shows a merciless chain of violence, terror, paranoia and ultimately madness. Musically, monumental choral scenes alternate with arias and duets in which the mental abysses of the protagonists are expressed through expressive vocal lines in which linguistic and dramatic aspects take precedence over vocal brilliance in order to express the psychological state of the characters.
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