Welser-Möst conducts Verdi: Macbeth – with Thomas Hampson

Verdi revelled in the power and fantasy of Shakespeare, and when he recreated Macbeth as an Italian opera he practically redefined the genre – demanding a Lady Macbeth who was a sublime actor as well as an outstanding singer. He’d have been thrilled with this production from Zurich Opera House, with its boldly imaginative staging by David Pountney and urgent, nuanced conducting from Franz Welser-Möst. But above all, he’d have been gripped by the young Sardinian soprano Paoletta Marrocu as Lady Macbeth, and an interpretation that Gramophone magazine compared to Maria Callas: “from first to last, a truly stunning performance”.

Soloists: 

Thomas Hampson (Baritone), Paoletta Marrocu (Soprano), Roberto Scandiuzzi (Bass), Luis Lima (Tenor), Liuba Chuchrova (Alto), Miroslav Christoff (Tenor), Peter Kálmán (Baritone), Marie-Thérèse Albert (Soprano), Rebecca Rüegger (Soprano), Michael Mrosek (Baritone), Giuseppe Scorsin (Bass)

Conductor: 

Franz Welser-Möst