Macbeth by Giuseppe Verdi

Giuseppe Verdi was always fascinated by the plays of Shakespeare;  he wrote three operas based on them, and contemplated a fourth (based on King Lear) but was never able to find the proper libretto.  Macbeth was the earliest of these Shakespeare adaptations, and a work which never quite satisfied the composer. The first version of the opera premiered in 1847 in Florence, but the version best know today is the revision the composer made for the 1865 Parisian revival. 

There is a famous letter in which Verdi states that Lady Macbeth must not have a beautiful voice, but must portray the evil of her character.  It is difficult to reconcile this statement with the music he composed for her, which is some of the most florid, difficult, and dramatic of his career. 

The performance history of Macbeth was relatively sparse until it was revived in German in the 1930s; since that time the opera has had continued success, although it did not reach the Metropolitan Opera until 1959.  

Part of the problem was the casting of Lady Macbeth.  Although it asks for high Cs, and even a D flat, in the Sleepwalking scene, the role lies very low for most sopranos.  The early German revivals often cast the role with a mezzo-soprano; today the role is entrusted to any singer who feels that she can adequately portray the role.