Verdi Macbeth Chailly (Verdi Macbeth) 37 years old

Claude D'Anna's film of Verdi's Macbeth is a gloomy affair, stressing the descent into madness of the principal villains. It's acted by the singers of the Decca recording of the opera (with two substitutions of actors standing in for singers) and the lip-synching is generally unobtrusive. The musical performance is superb, conducted by Riccardo Chailly with admirable fire, and sung by some of the leading lights of the opera stages of the 1980s. Shirley Verrett virtually owned the role of Lady Macbeth at the time, and she delivers a terrific performance, the voice equal to the role's wide register leaps and it's suffused with emotion, whether urging her husband on to murder or maddened by guilt in the Sleepwalking Scene. Leo Nucci's resonant Macbeth may lack the ultimate in vocal color and steadiness (his last notes of the great aria Pietà, rispetto, amore are wobbly) but he compensates with intensity in both singing and acting.

Credits

Verdi Macbeth Chailly Cast

Name	Character
Shirley Verrett She was 55, 79 years old when she died	as Lady Macbeth
Samuel Ramey He was 44, now 82 years old	as Banquo
Anna Caterina Antonacci She was 25, now 63 years old	as Dama de Lady Macbeth

Verdi Macbeth Chailly Crew

Name	Department
Giuseppe Verdi as Original Music Composer. He was 173 (87) years old when He died	Sound
Francesco Maria Piave as Writer. He was 176 (65) years old when He died	Writing