Opera Scotland

Macbeth 1977Scottish Opera

Read more about the opera Macbeth

After its successful launch at the 1976 Edinburgh Festival, an autumn tour and a run at the Theatre Royal had followed - fifteen performances in all.  Now Pountney's stimulating Macbeth had a final run of ten further performances away from Glasgow.

There were a couple of changes to the line-up.  A notable newcomer was the young American conductor, James Conlon, who would become a regular guest with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra for several years (recording some Mozart symphonies), as well as making regular Festival appearances.

Donald McIntyre had, up to now, been a frequent performer in Scotland, both with Sadler's Wells and Scottish Opera. Macbeth was to be his last part here - by this time his career was centred on singing the major Wagner roles, especially Wotan, at Covent Garden and Bayreuth, where he had been a leading element in the success of the famous 1976 Centenary Ring production by Patrice Chéreau, conducted by Pierre Boulez.