Sue Lefton

Star soprano Anna Netrebko created a sensation in her first Met performances as the malevolent Lady Macbeth, the central character in Verdi’s retelling of Shakespeare’s tragedy. She is joined by Željko Lucic, who brings dramatic intensity and vocal authority to the title role of the honest general driven to murder and deceit by his ambitious wife. René Pape is Banquo, Joseph Calleja is Macduff, and Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi presides over Adrian Noble’s atmospheric production.

Verdi’s admiration for Shakespeare led to such masterpieces as Othello and Falstaff, and if the earlier Macbeth isn’t on their exalted level it’s still a powerfully dramatic opera that hews closely to the original’s story line. The MET’s production retains the dark aura of the opera while updating it to a vaguely post-modern context. So the witches are bag ladies in various stages of decrepitude, with children in tow. The Banquet Scene features lowered chandeliers, a plethora of chairs, and a slew of extras dressed in tuxedos and party gowns. Macbeth sports a leather coat, the soldiers are in drab brown uniforms and seem to have fingers on their triggers even when they’re supposed to be in non-threatening situations. Director Adrian Noble also has Lady Macbeth do an inordinate amount of writhing around and singing from a lying-down position, adding to the feeling that a less interventionist directorial hand might have generated more impact.

　カトリックとプロテスタントの争いが激化する、16世紀のイングランド。エリザベスは、腹違いの姉で、彼女をロンドン塔に幽閉したメアリー女王の崩御後、世継ぎとして弱冠25歳の若さでイングランド女王に即位する。エリザベスには愛する恋人ダドリーがいたが、女王の立場は関係の緊迫した隣国との政略結婚を迫る。様々な謀略が渦巻き絶えず命を狙われるエリザベス。そんな苦悩が続く中、カトリックの最高権力・ローマ法王による謀反計画を知ったエリザベスは、対抗権力の粛清を行う。

Clarissa Dalloway looks back on her youth as she readies for a gathering at her house. The wife of a legislator and a doyenne of London's upper-crust party scene, Clarissa finds that the plight of ailing war veteran Septimus Warren Smith reminds her of a past romance with Peter Walsh. In flashbacks, young Clarissa explores her possibilities with Peter.

19世紀、イングランドのハイベリー。優雅な生活を送る良家の娘エマは、良縁や幸せな結婚こそいちばんと考え、周囲の人々の恋のキューピッド役を務めるのが何よりの楽しみ。自分の家庭教師の結婚をうまく取り持ったエマは続いて友人ハリエットの恋の相手として、エルトン牧師に狙いを定めて計画を練るが、しかし牧師が結婚したがっているのが自分だと知り、計画から手を引く。エマは新たに、別の男女を仲介しようとするが……。