Macbeth: Verdi And Shakespeare

Verdi’s Macbeth, whose particularity roots in its sources of relevant materialderived from two radically different historical period–16thand19thcentury--thatlasted for hundreds of years, is the consequence of mutual influence between musicand litterature. It was to this very reason that the opera succeded in combining both ofthe historic and cultural contexts of these era. Although Verdi did all he could torestore the authenticity of a drama describing anciant Scotland in the11thcentury, still,he was inevitably subdued to the social context of19thcentury, such as the movementof independence of Italy. Thus, Verdi offered us with an extended creative version ofShakespeare’s Macbeth, composed by Italian operatic elements.What the composer accomplished in order to transform originalNorthern-European myth into the language of19thcentury Italian Opera? How couldhe rescue the opera from the curse of chimera, whose head and tail tended to beShakespeare and Verdi? Where there seems to be a trap, there lies with anopportunity for genius like Verdi. Having been an loyal reader of Shakespeare in hischildhood, Verdi the composer interpreted the tale of Macbeth with audacity,creativity and even vulgarity. Through modifying the structure of traditional ItalianOpera which contained the sequence of Recitato plus Aria, Verdi inchanted thisancient art of singing within its tradition, his indispensable will to power bombardedthe goldedn principle of opera before Wagner, challenging and triggering it toinvestigate the horizon of dramatic opera. Verdi’s odessey had already begun, actuallyeven before he came to knew Wagner’s innovation. Now we all know that the bondbetween Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Verdi’s are second to none of all the secrets ofthis vigorous opera, while actually, this is far from satisfying for one who is capturedby Verdi’s charm in order to understand why this bizzar early-Verdi opera contains somuch more explosive energy than Shakespeare.