In my opinion Macbetto is Verdi's greatest operatic adaptation of Shakespeare. Macbeth's various arias perfectly mirror the character's emotional state, and the sleepwalking aria is perfect - chilling and literally pathetic.
That said, this production has flaws - not musically, but physically. Paskalis's voice is really powerful, and Barstow is a superb lady Macbeth, but she is a good four inches taller than him, despite built-up boots, and this can look rather odd at times. However, don't let that put you off watching it: it's a Glyndebourne production with a decent cast and a proper ballet and supernumeraries, of which I was one, to carry swords etc.
An interesting piece of trivia is that the supernumeraries and chorus, lying on their backs waiting to appear as the army for the first big chorus scene had bats flying around them from the fly-tower and out into the auditorium. Now that's realism!
That said, this production has flaws - not musically, but physically. Paskalis's voice is really powerful, and Barstow is a superb lady Macbeth, but she is a good four inches taller than him, despite built-up boots, and this can look rather odd at times. However, don't let that put you off watching it: it's a Glyndebourne production with a decent cast and a proper ballet and supernumeraries, of which I was one, to carry swords etc.
An interesting piece of trivia is that the supernumeraries and chorus, lying on their backs waiting to appear as the army for the first big chorus scene had bats flying around them from the fly-tower and out into the auditorium. Now that's realism!
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