GREAT PERFORMANCES AT THE MET: Macbeth

Metropolitan Opera, PBS and THIRTEEN New York join forces once again for a ninth season of opera telecasts, beginning in January 2015.

1 of 13

Anna Netrebko as Lady Macbeth and Željko Lučić in the title role of Verdi's "Macbeth."

Courtesy of Marty Sohl/Metropolitan Opera

2 of 13

Anna Netrebko as Lady Macbeth and Željko Lučić in the title role of Verdi's "Macbeth."

Courtesy of Marty Sohl/Metropolitan Opera

3 of 13

Anna Netrebko as Lady Macbeth in Verdi's "Macbeth."

Courtesy of Marty Sohl/Metropolitan Opera

4 of 13

Anna Netrebko as Lady Macbeth and Željko Lučić in the title role of Verdi's "Macbeth."

Courtesy of Marty Sohl/Metropolitan Opera

5 of 13

Anna Netrebko as Lady Macbeth and Željko Lučić in the title role of Verdi's "Macbeth."

Courtesy of Marty Sohl/Metropolitan Opera

6 of 13

René Pape as Banquo in Verdi's "Macbeth."

Courtesy of Marty Sohl/Metropolitan Opera

7 of 13

A scene from Verdi's "Macbeth."

Courtesy of Marty Sohl/Metropolitan Opera

8 of 13

Joseph Calleja as Macduff in Verdi's "Macbeth."

Courtesy of Marty Sohl/Metropolitan Opera

9 of 13

Anna Netrebko as Lady Macbeth and Željko Lučić in the title role of Verdi's "Macbeth."

Courtesy of Marty Sohl/Metropolitan Opera

10 of 13

Željko Lučić in the title role of Verdi's "Macbeth."

Courtesy of Marty Sohl/Metropolitan Opera

11 of 13

Anna Netrebko as Lady Macbeth and Željko Lučić in the title role of Verdi's "Macbeth."

Courtesy of Marty Sohl/Metropolitan Opera

12 of 13

Anna Netrebko as Lady Macbeth and Željko Lučić in the title role of Verdi's "Macbeth."

Courtesy of Marty Sohl/Metropolitan Opera

13 of 13

Anna Netrebko as Lady Macbeth and Željko Lučić in the title role of Verdi's "Macbeth."

Courtesy of Marty Sohl/Metropolitan Opera

Giuseppe Verdi’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s "Macbeth" comes to THIRTEEN’s GREAT PERFORMANCES AT THE MET with an internationally renowned cast headed by Russian star soprano Anna Netrebko in her North American debut as the fatally ambitious Lady Macbeth. Serbian baritone Željko Lučić sings the title role; German bass René Pape is among his victims of his bloody rise to the throne as Banquo, and Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja sings the role of his heroic rival Macduff. Met Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi conducts his first-ever performances of Verdi’s thrilling drama, which is the 2007 production directed by former Royal Shakespeare Company artistic director Adrian Noble. Anita Rachvelishvili hosts the broadcast.

When the production opened in fall 2014, The New York Times raved about the evening’s Lady Macbeth: “This was Ms. Netrebko’s night… Her sound was plush yet smoky, her voice powerful yet unforced… This was incisive, exacting Verdi singing, with gleaming top notes. She is a soprano with star power in the best sense, a charismatic expressivity that pervades every element of her performance.”

And NY Classical Review observed that Željko Lučić gave a “dramatically compelling and vocally nuanced performance… His final, rage-fueled call to battle was harrowing. Luisi led a thrilling performance from the pit, weaving spooky atmospheres and wringing every drop of drama from the score.”

GREAT PERFORMANCES AT THE MET is a presentation of THIRTEEN Productions LLC for WNET, one of America’s most prolific and respected public media providers. For the Met, Gary Halvorson directs the telecast. Jay David Saks is Music Producer, Mia Bongiovanni and Elena Park are Supervising Producers, and Louisa Briccetti and Victoria Warivonchik are Producers. Peter Gelb is Executive Producer. For GREAT PERFORMANCES, Bill O’Donnell is Series Producer; David Horn is Executive Producer.

Past episodes of GREAT PERFORMANCES are available for online viewing. GREAT PERFORMANCES is on Facebook, and you can follow @GPerfPBS on Twitter. The Metropolitan Opera is on Facebook, Instagram, and you can follow @MetOpera on Twitter.