Fate Unchallenged

At first glance, the Staatsoper’s new Macbeth seemed something of a throwback. Harry Kupfer’s unwillingness to stray too far from the libretto or overstuff his staging with tenuously connected ideas was almost defiantly at odds with the ostentatiously clever, concept-driven readings that are currently the norm; visually, the monochromatic sets and nocturnal mood would not have looked out of place in any of his celebrated productions from the nineties. Yet if it seemed cautious and even a touch conservative, it was also remarkably satisfying, a simple rendering of a familiar tale that was often content to cede the spotlight to the voices and personalities – primarily Anna Netrebko and Plácido Domingo – who gave the evening its claim to greatness.

From the moment the curtain rose – or rather fell – to reveal a war-ravaged landscape and…