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Musically, this is an exemplary Macbeth. Visually, it is a matter of personal taste, but director David Pountney, who has a flair for unconventional staging (see, for example, his Rusalka) gives it a strong, concentrated visual impact with overtones that send the mind spinning in many directions. The chorus of witches, which is seen right at the beginning and later at intervals, has a wild variety of costumes and makeup and might be mistaken for the inhabitants of an old-fashioned insane asylum. The power of superstition (or perhaps of the supernatural) is one of this opera's primary subtexts, and it's presented with eerie impact, including a mummified corpse that refuses to lie still. Costumes are generally but not exclusively modern. Thomas Hampson and Paoletta Marrocu score equally well as singers and actors, and neither tries to prettify the character. They are ably supported, most notably by Roberto Scanduzzi (who manages to look spooky as Banquo's ghost with a jacket and necktie) and Luis Lima, a fire-breathing Macduff. Franz Welser-Most conducts with a keen ear for dramatic tension. --Joe McLellan
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