tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6482231.post-24135643544245584582008-05-09T08:15:00.002-04:002008-05-09T08:17:42.380-04:00<a href="http://select.nytimes.com/mem/tnt.html?_r=1&emc=tnt&tntget=2008/05/09/arts/music/09macb.html&tntemail0=y&oref=slogin"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:180%;">Verdi vs. Shakespeare in a ‘Macbeth’ Showdown: Call It a Draw</span></a><br /><a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_coMIt1IqHCI/SCRAo8uSrDI/AAAAAAAACCE/Rm1XOPVEqGY/s1600-h/verdi+macbeth.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198350942131629106" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_coMIt1IqHCI/SCRAo8uSrDI/AAAAAAAACCE/Rm1XOPVEqGY/s400/verdi+macbeth.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:arial;">By </span><a title="More Articles by Anthony Tommasini" href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/t/anthony_tommasini/index.html?inline=nyt-per"><span style="font-family:arial;">ANTHONY TOMMASINI</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />New York Times</span></div><div><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">There are two gripping productions of “Macbeth” in New York right now.<br /><br />The darkly theatrical, cinematic staging directed by Rupert Goold and starring </span><a title="" href="http://movies.nytimes.com/person/530658/Patrick-Stewart?inline=nyt-per"><span style="font-family:arial;">Patrick Stewart</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> opened at the </span><a title="More articles about Brooklyn Academy of Music" href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/b/brooklyn_academy_of_music/index.html?inline=nyt-org"><span style="font-family:arial;">Brooklyn Academy of Music</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> and is now at the Lyceum Theater on Broadway.<br /><br />Then there is the </span><a title="More articles about the Metropolitan Opera." href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/m/metropolitan_opera/index.html?inline=nyt-org"><span style="font-family:arial;">Metropolitan Opera</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">’s new production of </span><a title="More articles about Giuseppe Verdi." href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/v/giuseppe_verdi/index.html?inline=nyt-per"><span style="font-family:arial;">Verdi</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">’s operatic adaptation of that </span><a title="More articles about William Shakespeare." href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/william_shakespeare/index.html?inline=nyt-per"><span style="font-family:arial;">Shakespeare</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> drama, a breakthrough work for the young Verdi, first performed in 1847. The Met’s grim, boldly updated production by the director Adrian Noble, which opened in October, returns on Friday with a new cast, led by the baritone Carlos Álvarez, the soprano Hasmik Papian as Lady Macbeth, and, in the crucial role of Banquo, the formidable bass René Pape. </span><a title="More articles about James Levine." href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/l/james_levine/index.html?inline=nyt-per"><span style="font-family:arial;">James Levine</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> conducts. </span></div>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08633989113084347812noreply@blogger.com