Macbeth

March 2025

Composer: Giuseppe Verdi
Librettists: Francesco Maria Piave & Andrea Maffei
Based on: Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Premiere Performance: Mar 14, 1847—Florence, Italy, Teatro della Pergola

A powerful and emotional work, Macbeth is the opera Giuseppe Verdi declared to be “unlike any other!” No love story here … just a darkly riveting scramble to grab power at any cost. Dominating the drama, Michael Mayes as Macbeth and Sara Gartland as Lady Macbeth bring their passionate and dramatic voices to this tightly paced work of magnificent music. This is the second of our series of operas based on the works of Shakespeare.

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Read Synopsis

Date + Times

Act I: 50 minutes
Act II: 35 minutes
Intermission: 25 minutes
Act III: 25 minutes
Act IV: 40 minutes

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Media

2024-25 Season Announcement

Cast + Creative

Cast

Lady Macbeth
Lady in Waiting
1st Apparition–Warrior
2nd Apparition–Bloody Child

Creative

Production Director
Live Action Designer
Assistant Director

Creators

Giuseppe Verdi

Composer

Famed composer Giuseppe Verdi was born Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi on October 9 or 10, 1813, in the community of Le Roncole, near Busseto in the province of Parma, Italy. His mother, Luigia Uttini, worked as a spinner, and his father, Carlo Giuseppe Verdi, made a living as a local inkeeper.

Verdi first developed musical talents at a young age, after moving with his family from Le Roncole to the neighboring town of Busseto. There, he began studying musical composition. In 1832, Verdi applied for admission at the Milan Conservatory, but was rejected due to his age. Subsequently, he began studying under Vincenzo Lavigna, a famous composer from Milan.

Verdi got his start in Italy’s music industry in 1833, when he was hired as a conductor at the Philharmonic Society in Busseto. In addition to composing, he made a living as an organist around this time. Three years later, in 1836, Verdi wed Margherita Barezzi, the daughter of a friend, Antonio Barezzi.

In 1838, at age 25, Verdi returned to Milan, where he completed his first opera, Oberto, in 1839, with the help of fellow musician Giulio Ricordi; the opera’s debut production was held at La Scala, an opera house in Milan. While working on Oberto, the composer suffered what would be the first of many personal tragedies: His and Margherita’s first child, daughter Virginia Maria Luigia Verdi (born in March 1837), died in infancy on August 12, 1838; just one year later, in October 1839, the couple’s second child, son Verdi Icilio Romano Verdi (born in July 1838), died, also as an infant.

Full Bio

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