‘Macbeth’ Loses Ardor in the Court

The sexual politics in Colin Graham’s staging of Verdi’s “Macbeth” for Opera Pacific dimmed significantly when two new singers took over principal roles Friday at the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa.

Rebecca Copley brought vocal and dramatic poise to the role of Lady Macbeth. She didn’t lie on her back and writhe on the royal bed at the start of the second act as had her predecessor, Cynthia Lawrence, for instance, but rather envisioned the character more traditionally as regal and contained.

Nor did the cracks in the personality show up as disturbingly in the banquet scene when she tried to cover for Macbeth’s distraught behavior. Hers was dramatically a less-compelling characterization.

Starting cautiously, Copley also offered more bel canto than visceral singing. Unfortunately, her voice tended to sound thin, dry and prone to pitch problems. But it did blossom where it was needed during the heights at the end of the sleepwalking scene, which dramatically showed her at her most persuasive.

Gordon Hawkins as Macbeth brought the physique and stature of a soldier to the role, but also a certain degree of vocal harshness and unsteadiness. Still, in no way was he a weak personage. Macbeth’s fainting spells seemed out of character, whereas his girding himself for the final battle didn’t.

The two did not indulge in the public expression of mutual attraction that had so scandalized the court of the first cast, and that choice also registered the decline in sexual electricity between the characters.

The other principals were previously reviewed. John DeMain again conducted.