Part of Tutto Verdi series - Macbeth (2006) Parma. Macbeth is one of the most multi-layered, profound and demanding roles that Verdi ever wrote for a baritone and the Italian singer Leo Nucci is arguably the most distinguished in his field. The role has repeatedly brought him lasting success and he enacts it with an intensity that only the very experienced stage personality can muster. French singer Sylvie Valayre is known for her versatile interpretations of spinto and dramatic coloratura soprano parts, especially for particularly gruelling roles like Lady Macbeth. Supported by Italian bass Enrico Iori as Banco and tenor Roberto Iuliano as Macduff, they make up a wonderful cast under the baton of Bruno Bartoletti, musical director of the Teatro Regio di Parma.

In early 11th-century Scotland, at Macbeth’s castle. During a storm, in a Scottish wood, witches gather to hatch sinister plots. They hear Macbeth and Banquo approaching—Scottish nobles fighting for their king, Duncan—and decide to target Macbeth. Macbeth has become king, but he confides to his wife his fears of having to shed more blood—that of Banquo, who suspects the truth, and of his sons... “Macbeth” is a four-act opera by Giuseppe Verdi, with a libretto by Francesco Maria Piave and Andrea Maffei, based on William Shakespeare’s eponymous tragedy. The music was composed between 1846 and 1847. Piave’s libretto is based on Carlo Rusconi’s prose translation, published in Turin in 1838. The opera premiered at the Teatro della Pergola in Florence on March 14, 1847. From the box set “Tutto Verdi,” featuring 27 of Verdi’s operas. Recorded live at the Teatro Regio in Parma on October 6, 8, 11, 13, 15, and 17, 2006.