Opera Scotland

Macbeth 1976Scottish Opera

Read more about the opera Macbeth

Scottish Opera's second Theatre Royal subscription season (1976-77) again consisted of ten varied operas. It opened with a revival of the successful Ebert staging of La bohème. This was followed by Confessions of a Justified Sinner (new in the summer), The Magic Flute, Don Pasquale, Macbeth (launched at the previous Edinburgh Festival), Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, The Merry Widow, Fidelio, The Rape of Lucretia and Jenůfa.

The company’s first attempt at Macbeth was generally considered successful. David Pountney introduced some striking images, including dungaree-clad witches using buckets of blood to paint the walls. The singers were actually directed quite conventionally, though a revolve was used to speed the final chorus on its way. 

It opened at the Edinburgh Festival with Galina Vishnevskaya as Lady Macbeth, along with Norman Bailey and David Ward, both better known in Scotland for their Wagner performances. Pauline Tinsley sang the role of Lady Macbeth at all the later performances, in Glasgow and on tour. Alexander Gibson was always a stirring conductor of Verdi, but had never worked on Macbeth before.