The WNO’s ‘Macbeth’ is a Soaring Operatic High
If you see one opera this season, let it be WNO's "Macbeth," Verdi's journey into the dark heart of the Scottish play.
Imaginative and powerfully delivered, the Washington National Opera’s Macbeth is the opera to drop everything and see. Verdi’s gorgeously dramatic distillation of Shakespeare’s tragedy is already ever-so-accessible, the dark and swooping grandeur of his score the perfect medium for the tale’s high drama and mystery.
Add director Brenna Corner’s elegantly innovative vision and this is classical opera for the 21st century at its best: so good it needs no compromises. If you have even the slightest interest in seeing the real deal, this is the one for you. If you are already in, this will be a treasure trove of pleasures.
Tautly paced by Corner, everything about the production works: from Verdi’s 20 witches swarming amorphously through scenic designer Erhard Rom’s soaring willowy woods, to the carefully-curated storytelling within the gloom of his geometric castle. The bold choice of S. Katy Tucker’s projections of mystical “masters,” thorny silhouettes, and snippets of portentous prose framed like silent-movie stills are quirky and intriguing.
All of it complements Corner’s confident embrace of stage-filling choral scenes and her seamless shakedowns when it’s the time and place to give the characters their due. If there is a slight lean towards the “park-and-bark,” it allows space to savor the clearly-drawn portraits of a ruthless Macbeth, hellbent Lady Macbeth, ill-fated Banquo, and terribly-wronged MacDuff. Corner has a true sense of theater and it shows. Paired with conductor Evan Rogister, who quite simply relishes the score, this is WNO cooking with gas.
Of course, at the core of this brilliance is a stellar cast and the principals here are out-of-the-gate fabulous. In the titular role, baritone Etienne Dupuis delivers a gloriously rich tone, moving effortlessly between grand power and emotive delicacy as Macbeth journeys from certainty to destruction. If the singer’s movements occasionally seem a tad under-choreographed, by the time the blood-lust takes hold, he is moving with utter certainty.
Corner and Dupuis convincingly suggest the nature of this particular Macbeth; he may be introspective, but he is also brutish. When he hears of Lady Macbeth’s death, he shows more anger than grief. Corner shows us that these are ancient times and its leaders are forged in war to be survivors.
Soprano Ewa Plonka — fresh from last spring’s Turandot — absolutely owns her Lady Macbeth, delivering her with an almost languorous sense of power that turns convincingly inward as she goes mad. Verdi gives Lady Macbeth some of the best moments, and Plonka takes it to the rafters with crystalline beauty and show-stopping reach.
The other stand-out is tenor Kang Wang as the avenging MacDuff. Wang revs up the star power, offering a poised and charismatic MacDuff you can really root for. Singing with a big golden power, the joy is only slightly mitigated by a vibrato that can divide: some will love it, others not so much.
As Banquo, the erst-while friend Macbeth so quickly dispatches, bass Soloman Howard is a striking presence, even if director Corner misses the need for a bit more chemistry with Macbeth. Howard sings with spectacular power and majesty, which seems primed for greatness. In smaller roles, Anneliese Klenetsky’s Lady-in-Waiting offers an especially sweet soprano and Nicolas Huff’s Malcolm has a strong final moment.
Verdi gave a special place to the chorus in this interpretation, turning the three witches into a dramatic choral force, and the company’s women’s chorus sings spectacularly. The full chorus brings the grandeur during Verdi’s added scene of the oppressed commoners and in the final rousing song of victory.
It’s not just the power in these moments, it’s the nuance drawn by Corner and choral master Steven Gathman. Indeed, clarity is another hallmark here, be it duets or ensembles. It’s a care and precision that infuses the entire production.
Macbeth (★★★★★) runs through Nov. 23 in the Kennedy Center Opera House. Tickets are $45 to $269. Visit www.kennedy-center.org.
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