The great Peter Simek praises the Dallas Opera’s MacBeth. I didn’t know Peter is blind. That could be the only explanation of how he managed to pay attention to the singing (which, I agree, was robust and moving) without having his senses assaulted by the awful production design, staging, and lighting.
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Okay, so the skeleton was a little over the top, but calling the production “juvenile” because of a few skulls in the witches’ lair and because you didn’t get the set seems, I don’t know, juvenile. The set works: it plays with a sense of claustrophobia; it traps the Macbeths in their own mess; it, with the lighting, strips away the actors’ and audience’s comfort level, creating a visual waste land so we only have the music to hold onto.
But if kilts and foam castles are more your taste, that’s fine too.
[munching popcorn]
T.O. has trained you well, Eric.
Okay, my child is scared to go to her Macbeth field trip tonight. Who knew there are 7th grade Frontburners? Lighten up Peter, the scenery sounds like the puppet show at the fair.
It was juvenile and straight out of Cheap Symbolism for Stage Directors 101 – Chapter 1: Symbols of Femininity.
Can you imagine someone going, “I have a BRILLIANT idea! Let’s have half of the witches dress in bridal gowns and half of the dress in funeral gowns! Because they’re – like – brides and widows, which are HUGE FEMALE SYMBOLS.
“Oh, and that one scene where Lady Macbeth gets overly cranky and irritable – let’s symbolize her trip into crazyland with dripping blood. Because, you know, crazy females are all about dripping blood.”
I will admit, however, that the singing was quite nice.