The Metropolitan Opera’s 2026-27 season opened September 22 with a new production of Verdi’s\u00a0Macbeth, directed by Louisa Proske\u2014and the reviews are in!<\/p>\n
Based on Shakespeare’s tragedy, the production stars baritone Quinn Kelsey as the titular Thane, with soprano Lise Davidsen as Lady Macbeth. For Kelsey, renowned for his interpretations of Verdi baritone roles, this marks his sixth Verdi role at the Met.<\/p>\n
Kelsey and Davidsen are joined by tenor Freddie De Tommasso as Macduff and bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green as Banquo. Rafael Davila will play Macduff at the October 2 performance.<\/p>\n
Read the reviews here.<\/p>\n
The Financial Times (Andrew Farach-Colton)<\/a><\/p>\n The New York Times (Oussama Zahr)<\/a>*<\/p>\n OperaWire (Francisco\u00a0Salazar)<\/a><\/p>\n Parterre Box (Christopher Corwin)<\/a><\/p>\n SlippedDisc (Susan Hall)<\/a><\/p>\n The Times (Harry Rose)<\/a><\/p>\n *This review may require creating a free account or a paid subscription.<\/p>\n Playbill will continue to update this list as reviews come in.<\/p>\n Proske leads a creative team which includes set designer Jon Bausor, costume designer Montana Levi Blanco<\/a>, lighting designer Adam Silverman<\/a>, choreographer Jorrell Lawyer-Jefferson, and action director Ran Arthur Braun. Lawyer-Jefferson and Braun are making their Met debuts. Met Opera Music Director Yannick N\u00e9zet-S\u00e9guin conducts.<\/p>\n Macbeth was the first of three operas composed by Verdi based on plays by Shakespeare. The opera premiered in 1847, early in Verdi’s career, but the composer revised it extensively for its French premiere in 1865. An Italian version of the French revision is usually what is performed nowadays, blending the high-energy bel canto influences of Verdi’s earlier style with the more somber and atmospheric music of his later career. The opera is fairly true to the Shakespearean source, with the exception of Shakespeare’s trio of witches, who are expanded in the opera into a full-blown chorus of witches.<\/p>\n The Met’s 2026-27 season will also include the world premiere of Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek’s Lincoln in the Bardo, the Met premiere of Kevin Puts and Mark Campbell’s Silent Night, and new productions of Jan\u00e1\u010dek\u2019s Jen\u016ffa and Puccini’s La Fanciulla del West, as well as revivals of 12 other productions from the company’s repertory.<\/p>\n