A prolific composer, Ernest Bloch only wrote one opera, Macbeth. He began the work
in 1904 at a time when he was occupied creating other pieces. Over the years, he kept
returning to Macbeth, eventually finishing the opera in 1909. The composer’s daughter,
Suzanne, wrote in
Ernest Bloch: Creative Spirit
, “His conception of the music was to express
the inner ferments of the characters, more important to him than the actual external
drama.”
In 1910, Bloch’s Macbeth had its world premiere in Paris at the Opéra Comique at a time
when Verdi’s 1846 Macbeth was infrequently performed. In 1938, the first post-World
War I staging of Macbeth took place at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples, only to be halted
by a decree by Mussolini’s Fascist anti-Semitic government. After World War II, Macbeth
was again rediscovered and performed this time in Italian translation. Stagings took place
in Rome (1953), Trieste (1957), Brussels (1958) and, following Bloch’s death, at La Scala in
Milan (1959). The most recent overseas production was in 2009 by the University College
London.
In 1950, Bloch and Alex Cohen created an English version of the Macbeth libretto.
Although essentially the same as the original French libretto written by Edmond Fleg,
some of the text was changed to bring it closer to Shakespeare’s dialogue.
Previous U.S. performances of the opera (each one using the English libretto) began in
1957 at Cleveland’s Karamu House, an African-American theatrical company which
performed the American premiere of the work in an abridged version. The only other
U.S. performances have been at the University of California Berkeley (1960), Baylor
University (1970) and the Juilliard School of Music (1973) in a production directed by
John Houseman. In 2013, Long Beach Opera was the first professional opera company in
the United States to stage Bloch’s Macbeth.
DONOR SPOTLIGHT
STEFAN EDLIS AND GAEL NEESON
Passionate patrons of the arts, Stefan Edlis and Gael
Neeson are pleased to sponsor this production of
Ernest Bloch’s Macbeth. Mr. Edlis and Ms. Neeson
have a long history with Chicago Opera Theater,
having been involved with the company for more than
30 years. Gael served on COT’s Board of Directors as
a Trustee from 1983-85, and as Vice-President from
1986-91.
Stefan and Gael are actively involved with arts organizations in Chicago, New York, and
Aspen. Through a transformative gift to the Museum of Contemporary Art, they helped
make possible the creation of the Edlis Neeson Theater, a multi-purpose performance
venue within the museum. They are avid collectors of contemporary art, and their
passion for new and groundbreaking work continues with their support of COT’s Chicago
Premiere of Ernest Bloch’s Macbeth. Thank you Gael and Stefan!
BLOCH’S MACBETH
MACBETH
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