Macbeth

‘Music as an antidote to the yearning for power’ : an interview with conductor Myung-Whun Chung

Maestro Chung, you are conducting Macbeth for the very first time, a play by Shakespeare that was particularly close to Verdi’s heart and that he considered to be ‘one of the greatest creations of the human spirit’. How did you approach this opera?

When you start to work on something new, you have to do things in a certain order. Therefore, just as Verdi did when he composed the opera, I started with the libretto and Shakespeare’s play. Verdi always looked for a central idea he could compose his music around. In this sense one can say that the words come before the music. However, if this is the beginning, for him and for any other musician the endpoint has to be the music, which is of a much greater importance than the written text. As far as I am concerned, I think that a conductor’s main task is to try and reconstruct the path that the composer followed. However, in Macbeth the starting point, in other words Shakespeare, is very powerful so the relationship between music and words is therefore much denser and closer than in other cases. I must say that at first I did not find this approach to the opera easy because what I usually love the most in Verdi is his human aspect, the nobleness, courage and love. Here, however, there is very little nobleness and just as little true love. It is a violent, ferocious world and I had to force myself a little to enter it. Luckily the music came to my rescue.

We know that Verdi wanted the singer Felice Varesi at all costs for the premiere because he thought he was the only one who was able to create the particular ‘effect’ required in that character. What kind of vocal qualities do you think the role of Macbeth should have? And what about Lady Macbeth?

First of all I would like to say that in a way, this opera should be called Lady Macbeth. While the role of Macbeth is undoubtedly one of the main ones, as is so often the case in life, it is the woman behind the man who is more important. And this element comes out vigorously in Macbeth. So what you need is a good actor for Macbeth but his voice is relatively ‘normal’, while the soprano role is almost impossible. For the Lady he was looking for a singer who was not attractive and did not even have a beautiful voice. But that was obviously impossible because you cannot choose someone with poor vocal qualities. So you have to start working with a beautiful voice that is flexible enough to bring to the fore the innate evil in this character. Of all the roles I know, this one is the closest to impossible. In general, in the relationship between a man and a woman, between husband and wife, I think the role of the woman is far more important. I often say that my main task is not conducting: first of all, I’m a porter; then I’m the cook; and in addition, I conduct. The relationship between the two protagonists in Macbeth is really clear: his wife has Macbeth in her complete power and control.

After Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, the third protagonist is the witches’ chorus.

These figures are also almost impossible to interpret. If one stages Shakespeare’s play without Verdi’s music one can introduce ‘real’ witches who may have shrill, horrible voices. But when singing, it is extremely complex to make the musical characteristics of these figures emerge. Vocally speaking, excessive exaggeration produces a comic effect. So it is really difficult to find the right way and a lot of work has to be done both technically and mechanically speaking. One almost always has to sing without a heart, calculating carefully the effects that the lightness and ‘phantom-like’ presence of these witches create. It is almost like working against nature, without leaving any space for emotions. It is the complete opposite to the beautiful Italian voices that put their heart into every note.

After the première in Florence, the composer revised the score for Paris, modifying some parts but also changing others completely. Today it is the second version that is performed most frequently. Why?

I don’t think one should talk of a second version. In fact, the one created for Paris is a score that compared to the first contains only minor changes. In this case Verdi’s revision is different from that of his other operas, for example Simon Boccanegra, where the second version is undoubtedly better. With Macbeth, Verdi kept most of the first version in the second, but he also made small changes, and changed the orchestration in several places, but the overall structure of the opera is definitely the same. However, as always, the slightest change is highly motivated and is a clear improvement and that is why it is difficult to resist the second version when making a choice. But we won’t perform the ballet that was devised specifically for Paris. Personally, I do not like adding ballet scenes to Verdi’s works.

Macbeth is a ‘fantasy’ genre opera, chosen by Verdi together with the entrepreneur Alessandro Lanari who had already introduced works such as Meyerbeer’s Robert le Diable or Weber’s Der Freischütz.

That’s right, you just have to think of Lady Macbeth’s famous sleepwalking scene in the last act. However, the whole opera evolves on a subtle line between reality and a dreamlike world, between what is concrete and imagined. Regarding the direction, I think our production focuses on this kind of interpretation. The presence of the children is to be understood accordingly, and for Verdi this had a very important function. Perhaps giving Lady Macbeth a little humanity helps, because at a certain point she seems to become incomprehensibly evil, wavering constantly between this atavistic evil and madness.

This is a macabre tale of power, greed and human weakness. What does it still have to say to the audience today?

It is not just speaking to contemporary viewers but to the audience through the ages. The protagonists are two figures who want to dominate everyone else. Figures like these, who are blinded by their desire for power, have always posed a great danger for humanity no matter where you go. And although the subject is dark and violent, this opera helps us understand just to what extent this drug – in the form of yearning for power – is so terribly deeply rooted in man. As always, the music manages to convey a specific message that goes beyond the mere words. The latter remain in one’s head while the music goes to the very heart and soul of every human being.