Lady Macbeth In The Opera example essay topic

Lady Macbeth From Head Conspirator to Wimp The story of Macbeth by Shakespeare is one of his most read and most loved plays. It was not unlikely that out of all of his plays that Macbeth would be one of the few successful plays that would be turned into an opera. Verdi wrote the opera with librettists Francesco Maria Piave and Andrea Maff ei. The opera was written around 1846 and premiered on March 14, 1847 at the Teatro dell Pergola in Florence, Italy. A few years later the Verdi revised the opera adding a ballet into it and taking out some things and was performed at the Theatre Ly rique in Paris on April 21, 1865. This opera in comparison to the play begins with the third scene of the play.

Unlike some of Verdi and other composer's other operas the dialogue of Macbeth closely follows Shakespeare's dialogue throughout the entire opera. It has been said that the words throughout the opera are ore often than not a literal translation of Shakespeare's work. All of this information is fine and gives us a general understanding of who wrote the opera and when, but what I want to focus on in this paper is the Prima Donna of the opera by Verdi: Lady Macbeth. Although she is an integral part to both the play also and since the opera is so closely related to the play, I will focus on the opera by Verdi.

Through a character analysis, evidence on how Verdi saw his Lady Macbeth, and a discussion of her development through her arias, I will discuss how Lady Macbeth began as a woman thirsty to become Queen and ends as a woman that was willing to and did take her own life. One of the lines of the play the Lady Macbeth said was very interesting that gives you the character of Lady Macbeth in one statement and Verdi's opera shows this. She says. ".. look like the innocent flower, But be the serpent under't. (I. vs. 67-68) " This is the thesis statement of Lady Macbeth's life until the bitter end. Lady Macbeth is Macbeth's wife, a deeply ambitious woman who lusts for power and position.

Early on she is the stronger and more ruthless of the two, as she urges her husband to kill the King, Duncan, and seize the thrown. Lady Macbeth exploits her sexual hold over Macbeth as a means to persuade him to commit murder after murder. However, their shared alienation from the world occasioned by their partnership in crime does not bring them closer together, but instead seems send them in different directions and on different paths of healing. After the bloodshed begins, however, Lady Macbeth falls victim to guilt and madness to an even greater degree than her husband.

Her conscience affects her to such an extent that she eventually commits suicide. In other words, Lady Macbeth was a terribly ambitious woman that didn't mind killing a few people to get what she wants. This ambition later led to her suffering and her downfall at the end. Through letters that were found that Verdi wrote to his librettist and to the actual singer of the role of Lady Macbeth we can see what he had in mind for her role. We can also see how important it was for Lady Macbeth in the opera to be as close as possible to the original role of Lady Macbeth in the play.

He states on many occasions how great the English tragic poet is. In one of the letters that Verdi wrote it states, "I know that you are rehearsing Macbeth and as it is an opera in which I take more interest than in the others, permit me to say a few words about it. The part of Lady Macbeth has been given to Madame Tadolini and I am and I am surprised that she has consented to play this role. You know how much I admire Madame Tadolini and she knows it herself, but in all our interests I believe it necessary to remark that she has qualities too great for this part. That will perhaps seem absurd to you. But Madame Tadolini looks beautiful and good, and I should like Lady Macbeth to look ugly and evil.

Madame Tadolini sings to perfection and I should like Lady Macbeth not to sing at all. Madame Tadolini's had a stupendous voice, clear, limpid, powerful; I should like in Lady Macbeth a voice rough, hoarse, and gloomy. Madame Tadolini's voice has angelic qualities; I should like the voice of Lady Macbeth to have something diabolical about it. She should moreover have a talent for declamation rather than for beauty of tone or elegance of vocal line...

". Singing during the time that Verdi wrote this opera was normally sung in a specific way. Singing in a way that was more spoken than sung was not something that was done often. Singing was more lyrical and it was focused more on the smooth vocal line. Italian prided themselves on their singers singing for beauty and the legato. This is evident in the request of one of the women who apparently was to sing the role of Lady Macbeth.

She must have found the role difficult to interpret vocally and dramatically the way that Verdi wanted so she took it upon herself to write to him and ask if the role could be sung more like a cantabile. She also asked to omit the reading of the letter in the "letter scene". During that time also it was more of comic opera that had spoken dialogue or monologue in it, which made this a little awkward for a opera of this caliber to have spoken words in it. In a letter that Verdi wrote back to her he explained, "From your letter I see that you would much like a cantabile of the type of that in Faust a (Donizetti's operas). But if you will examine well the nature of this opera you will see that it could not be done without doing violence to the character and making nonsense of it. Besides it would be profanation to alter a character to great, so energetic, so original, as this created by the great English tragic poet.

As I believe I told you before, this is a drama that has nothing in common with the others and we must all make every effort to render it in the most original manner possible. I believe that it is time to abandon the customary formulas and the usual methods... As for the letter, it's impossible to cut it out because it is fundamental to the drams, but if you don't like to recite it we will set it to music. I recommend to you these 2 pieces; the notes are easy and are written above all for their effect on stage; the sleepwalking scene is, for dramatic affect, one of the most sublime theatrical creations. Observe that every word has meaning and it is absolutely necessary to express it, both by voice and action...

" Verdi was very adamant about how he wanted Lady Macbeth portrayed and he played a very active role in getting what he wanted and what he thought would do the best justice to the writings of Shakespeare. Lady Macbeth's character in the opera has an absence of intimacy. She is seen more as the head conspirator instead of Macbeth's wife. She is crude and one can't help but notice her lack of virtue, lack of sweetness, and spiritual disarray. There is a very little that is free or quiet in Lady Macbeth's actions, words, or vocal line. She is not the type of character that any moral person could identify with, but it is possible that someone could identify with her intensions.

In some readings it was said that Lady Macbeth's character was too masculine for Italian tastes. In the instance when she sings her famous phrase, "Unsex me here", when she calls on the spirits. This figuratively means that she would like to be the man so that she can do all the things a man can do and that literally the witches will help her. Lady Macbeth surpasses Macbeth in energy and Macbeth rarely did anything independent of Lady Macbeth until the end. In the opera she is more ambitious. Her outlook is not that she is just ambitious, but she feels as if she is entitled to be queen.

Historically is was that Macbeth was supposed to be king and not Duncan, so she feels as if the crown was originally supposed to be hers by right. The crown was stolen from her and now it is her turn to steal it back. The only problem is that the only way she can get what she feels is rightfully hers is through a man that she will definitely have to persuade to even fight for the crown. As I look at the arias that Lady Macbeth sang they each had their on interpretive quality. All of the arias had to be sung with different intent as they express the digression of the strongest conspirator in the beginning of the opera to the weakest link in the chain.

Some singers suggest that each aria must be sung in a 4 very different styles of voices embodied in one person in order to give each aria the full intent of the character as well as the words. The first aria begins with the reading of the letter. This is also when we see Lady Macbeth on stage for the very first time. This aria corresponds with the monologue in the beginning of Act 1, Scene 5 of the play. She is reading a letter that Macbeth has written and he is writing about prophesies of the witches that he will be King of Scotland. In this aria Lady Macbeth shows her lusts for the crown.

She also shows what she thinks of her husband in this aria. She begins by saying that she thinks Macbeth is ambitious, but is he ambitious enough to resort to evil to get what he wants. She says, "Alla anel i ma sarai tu? Pin di 'e il calle dell, e mal per lui che il piece vi pone, e retrocede!" which translates to you want to be great, but will you be wicked?

The way to the power is full of crimes, and plague on him that begins that way doubting and then goes back. She here is saying that she doesn't think that Macbeth is capable of being wicked enough to get what he wants. Then maybe he is capable to start the process but not be able to see it through to the end. This is ironic, because the very thoughts that she had of Macbeth is how she ended up in the opera.

She was able to start the job and get the ball rolling, but in the end she could not handle her own conscience of her wrong doings. The aria continues as she vows to get the crown for Macbeth by any means necessary. She says that she will sets his cold heart afire and make him able to complete the bold undertaking of the throne. Her servant interrupts the aria to give Lady Macbeth some wonderful news for her. He tells her that King Duncan will be visiting their home tonight and that Macbeth is escorting him. Lady Macbeth's mind begins to working here and she says, "Or tutti, ministry, infernal i, che al san gue inco rate, I mortal i".

This translates to you furies of satan, assist me in my duty! Unsex me, hellish demons, and fill my veins with gall! Drown what's human in poison and gall, ah! This is where the famous line "Unsex me... ". comes from and she desires to become a man to carry out the duties that only a man can handle.

It is after this aria that Lady Macbeth in a duet with Macbeth convinces him to carry out her plot to kill King Duncan. The next aria that is sung by Lady Macbeth is La Luce langue. She is even more ferocious in this aria. She is somewhat gloating in this aria because she has now gotten the taste of blood on her brain, but then realizes that although they have the crown now, they will have to kill again to keep the crown. This aria is her finally getting what she wanted, the crown saying, "O, alvin sei mio!" meaning, oh scepter, finally you are mine! She goes on to say that every mortal passion is stilled and satisfied by you.

She is satisfied, but has to murder again to stay satisfied. The "drinking" song is her next aria and here is where we see her false, double-faced, hypocritical side, acting like the gracious hostess when she knows what she has done. She is also here trying to cover up her husband's weakness. He has seen the ghost of Banque and is seemingly loosing his mind.

This aria is sung twice. The first time she sings it light-hearted ly, but the second time around is more anguished and emphatic. At this point she is trying to impose gaiety and make the guest forget the spectacle the Macbeth has made of himself. She begins by saying, "Let our cups be filled with choicest wine! Let pleasure be born, let pain pass! Let hate and despising of other disappear, let love alone enjoy herself and rule here.

Let us enjoy this ointment for all wounds which fills our heart with new life. Let us drive away troubled thoughts from our breast, let pleasure be born, let pain pass". It is here also that Lady Macbeth is starting to feel the consequences of her actions, because after she sings this aria and she has tried to calm down Macbeth, she looks at her own hands and sees the blood. This leads us to the sleepwalking scene.

Lady Macbeth's state of mind has now been deteriorating for quite some time now and she is also seeing things. She begins to sleepwalk and in her last aria, Una mac chia 'e qui tutto ra! , she is being tormented by the blood on her hands that she cannot get rid of. She says", Una mac chia 'e qui tutto ra! Via, ti dico, o!" This means, "Still a spot and I knew it! Go, I tell you accursed spatter!" She is at the point where nothing she does can wash this spot of blood off of her hands. She cries out, "E mai puli re quest e mani io non's apr'o?"I can not wipe off this evil stain".

She is definitely being tormented but the things that she had done. It is as if she now realizes that the crown was not worth the shedding of innocent blood and the torment that shedding innocent blood would bring with it. Not only does she see the blood, but she also smells the blood and nothing, no perfume or fragrance, can wipe the smell of blood out of her nostrils. She is so tormented at this time that she takes her life.

It was suggested by my fellow student that the actual play of Macbeth by Shakespeare could have been a warning for women that this is what happens when a woman tries taking the lead in the family. There is a lot of evidence of this throughout the opera and the play, but I don't think that as women look at the opera or even the play that it would be evident enough to draw that conclusion. I believe that what you would definitely see is the fact that a woman's ambition can be a dangerous thing. Also that the consequences of their actions will eventually come back to haunt you if not now, then later. Lady Macbeth in the beginning was the woman who had all of the answers. She thought that she knew how to handle every situation to where she would come out on top, but in the end she could not handle her own decisions.

If you had to compare Macbeth's character to Lady Macbeth's you could say that he lives through her until there is a point of separation mentally and physically. His role begins as a wimp, but ends with him fighting for everything even to the bitter end of death in battle, while Lady Macbeth begins fighting for everything that she wants wholeheartedly and she ends in a whimper by killing herself. Moral of this story is that the key to getting what you want is to work hard and go about getting it in the right way so you won't have to kill or fight to keep it.

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