William Shakespare

a cura di J. Pignet e C. Aira
 
 One of the best-known of William Shakespeare's plays and his shortest tragedy. Often regarded as archetypal, the play tells of the dangers of lust for power and betrayal of friends.
 Macbeth is given a prophecy by a trio of witches: he himself will become king. Fired by ambition and pushed by his ruthless wife, he murders theking and assumes the throne. More killings follow as Macbeth attempts to retain his crown, until he discovers that prophecies are not always what they seem…
 The numerous in-depth analyses are about history and fiction in Macbeth, the paintings, films and music inspired by the tragedy, its stage performances and a close examination of the characters. 
 
 Teacher's Resources available online: Answer Key - Audioscripts - Key to Summing-up Activities
 
 Macbeth è una delle opere più famose di Shakespeare e la sua tragedia più breve. Tre streghe profetizzano a Macbeth che egli salirà sempre più nella scala gerarchica fino a diventare re. Avveratasi la prima delle profezie, accecato dall'ambizione e spinto dalla spietata moglie, Macbeth uccide il re e sale sul trono. Seguiranno altre orribili uccisioni nel tentativo di conservare la corona, finché scoprirà che le profezie possono avere un'altra verità…

William Shakespeare

Chapter 1 – The Prophecy

Extension: History and fiction in Macbeth

Chapter 2 – A False Welcome

Extension: Macbeth on stage

Chapter 3 – A Night of Horrors

Extension: Paintings

Chapter 4 – A Tortured Mind

Extension: Macbeth in music

Chapter 5 – A Career of Blood

Extension: Macbeth on screen

Chapter 6 – Birnam Wood

Extension: The seeds of evil

Summing-up activities

Glossary

E X T E N S I O N MACBETH IN MUSIC Classic Editions The Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi loved Shakespeare s plays and was particularly attracted by Macbeth because it describes the conflict between ambition, loyalty and love. The manager of the Teatro Pergola in Florence asked Verdi to compose an opera for the Carnival and Verdi composed Macbeth in 1846-1847 with the libretto1 by Francesco Maria Piave. At the end of the 18th century Richard Strauss composed Macbeth, one of his earliest tone poems2 (1890). Strauss tried to match3 the story line of Macbeth with the musical content of the tone poem. (libretto by H. von Hofmannsthal). The Macbeths of Verdi and Strauss were quite  realistic  and close to Shakespeare s work. Ernest Bloch, on the contrary, tried to be faithful4 to the symbolist movement of his period. The opera Mac Beth (libretto by Edmond Fleg) shows the influence of both the Germanic school of Richard Strauss and the impressionism of Claude Debussy. It is an opera in three acts, composed between 1904 and 1906. Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District (1934) is an opera in four acts that Dmitri Shostakovich dedicated to his first wife. Based on a Russian libretto by Alexander Preis, the opera takes the name from the short story by Nikolaj Leskov. With its passionate 1. libretto: words sung in an opera. 2. tone poem: piece of orchestral music with a narrative or illustrative element (poem, story or novel, painting). 3. match: compare, relate. 4. faithful: close to. 58 

heroine, sexy plot and lovely music, Shostakovich s opera was enormously successful when it first appeared in Leningrad in 1934. Just two years later, after Stalin attended a performance, the newspaper Pravda denounced it because its heroine was too liberal and its music too  discordant.  The opera disappeared from the stage until the 1960s, when Shostakovich revised5 it. Modern Versions In the 20th century, some composers highlighted6 the modern qualities and themes of the tragedy. One example is Umabatha, written by Welcome Msomi (1969), which mixes the story of Macbeth with the history of Shaka Zulu, incorporating Zulu tribal songs and dances. The progressive rock band Third Ear Band produced Music from Macbeth (1972), an album of the soundtrack from Roman Polanski s 1971 film The Tragedy of Macbeth. In 2000, the US metal group Jag Panzer wrote Thane to the Throne, a CD based on the story of Macbeth. The songs mix string quartets, classical guitar and vocal acrobatics to give the idea of the arrogance, disloyalty, guilt7 and downfall of the protagonist. A Tragedy in Steel, an album by Rebellion (2003), is also a mixture of classical metal music with strong melodies and voices. Both these albums have many spoken parts. Macbeth: the Contemporary Rock Opera (revised 2006) was written and performed by Judy Stevens and Clarry Evan. It is a literal interpretation of the classic tale, faithful to the Shakespearean text but with a contemporary musical score8. A free adaptation of the Shakespearian tragedy is From a Jack to a King (2000), a rock version of Macbeth. Bob Carlton transferred the story from the royal family of Scotland to the  Music Business . All the sentences are Shakespeare s and are mixed with contemporary words and many popular pieces of rock music. 5. revised: re-examine. 6. highlighted: put in evidence. 7. guilt: criminal responsibility. 8. score: written orchestral music. 59 

Macbeth, la tragedia più breve di Shakespeare, racconta l'ascesa e la caduta del protagonista, spinto dall'ambizione e da profezie ingannevoli.

Macbeth Collana RAINBOWS

Level B1 • Pre-Intermediate - Collana RAINBOWS

Macbeth

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