The Royal Opera’s production of Macbeth, Giuseppe Verdi’s opera on the Shakespearean tragedy, will be screened live at the Eden Cinemas today.

Verdi considered Macbeth to be ‘one of the greatest creations of man’, and with his librettist, Francesco Maria Piave, Verdi set out to create ‘something out of the ordinary’.

The opera sees warrior Macbeth fighting on the side of the King of Scotland but when a coven of witches prophesise that he will become king himself, a ruthless ambition drives Macbeth and his wife to horrific acts. Murder makes Macbeth king, and intrigue and butchery are the hallmarks of his brief, doomed reign. The witches make another prediction, which also comes true: Macbeth and his lady lose their lives, and justice is restored.

Phyllida Lloyd’s 2002 production for The Royal Opera is richly hued, shot through with black, red and gold and the witches – imagined by designer Anthony Ward as strange, scarlet-turbaned creatures – are ever-present agents of fate.

This production also uses Verdi’s 1865 Paris revision of the opera, which includes Lady Macbeth’s aria La luce langue.

The screening will take place today at 8.15pm at the Eden Cinemas in St Julian’s. It will be followed by an encore on Sunday at 3pm. Tickets may be purchased from the Eden Cinemas box office or online at www.edencinemas.com.mt.

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