Kirsty Tapp

Verdi’s life-long love affair with Shakespeare’s works began with Macbeth, a play he considered to be ‘one of the greatest creations of man’. With his librettist, Francesco Maria Piave, Verdi set out to create ‘something out of the ordinary’. Their success is borne out in every bar of a score that sees Verdi at his most theatrical: it bristles with demonic energy.

Macbeth, the Thane of Glamis, receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders his king and takes the throne for himself.

1919年。廃墟と化したパリのオペラ座で、かつての栄華をしのばせる品々がオークションにかけられる。時はさかのぼり1870年代。全盛期のオペラ座は大勢の客でにぎわう一方、仮面の怪人“ファントム”の出没で、人々が不安に陥っていた。そんな中、若きコーラスガールのクリスティーヌは、ファントムを自分の“音楽の天使”と信じて敬う。やがて彼女はファントムのおかげでチャンスをつかみ、一躍スターとなる。