The ‘Scottish Opera’

Young Chang

The cast and crew of Opera Pacific’s upcoming production of “Macbeth”

don’t fear the work’s supposed curse.

Lore surrounding the play says that calling the Shakespearean work by

its name brings bad luck. Many people substitute “the Scottish Play” or

“the Scottish Tragedy” for the story’s proper name.

Theater actors, for example, take the curse very seriously. Past

productions, dating back to as early as the 15th century, record

incidents of death, injuries, freak accidents and other unfortunate

happenings related to the show’s production.

Legend has it that William Shakespeare wrote the tragedy for King

James I, who was interested in demonology. “Macbeth” includes three

witches who cast spells -- some believe Shakespeare added this

supernatural touch to appeal to the king’s taste.

Despite the historical guesses, the cast and crew for next week’s run

of Giuseppe Verdi’s “Macbeth” at the Orange County Performing Arts Center

said they believe they’re home free. After all, theirs is an opera.

“The curse doesn’t really translate to singers,” said Andrew Richards,

who will play Macduff for the show’s two casts. “The piece isn’t done a

lot as an opera. It hasn’t had time to build up superstition.”

So far, with the exception of leading lady soprano Audrey Stottler

having to withdraw from the show because of a throat infection, nothing

seems to have fallen under the curse, artistic director John DeMain said.

Rebecca Copley will replace Stottler for the role of Lady Macbeth,

making her Opera Pacific debut.

DeMain, the show’s principal conductor, will stand behind the podium

for the production, which marks the beginning of the centennial year of

Verdi’s death.

“Lady Macbeth is the really difficult role because it requires a lot

of coloratura singing, flexibility in the voice, a big sound, an enormous

range,” DeMain said. Copley “is quite fantastic. Both of these ladies

have fantastic voices.”

He added that the play translates successfully into an opera,

retaining the essence of the story -- the thirst for power, the

willingness to achieve it at any cost, guilt and how it leads to

destruction -- coupled with a “beautiful score.”

“I see this opera as Verdi referred to it, as his personal favorite,”

DeMain said. “I think it’s because he found a way to express drama in

music in a way that hadn’t happened before.”

Colin Graham, a noted Shakespearean director, will stage the drama.

Joel Berlin designed and created the costumes, and Ramon Lopez designed

the set.

“It’s pretty thrilling to be working with Colin Graham,” said

Richards, a tenor. “He’s so widely renowned in the field. I’ve been

learning a lot.”

For Verdi, the dramatic portrayal of the characters was as important

to the piece as the singing. This was a breakthrough for the composer, as

opera in general was being taken to a more dramatic level, DeMain said.

“They acted in the previous period, but they acted with the

constraints put on them by the music, which was staid, unconventional

and, in a way, one-dimensional,” he added.

Berlin, who sprayed costumes this week with occasional splashes of

fake blood for characters that are murdered, said the opera version of

the play has been challenging in terms of costume design for one reason:

Opera is grand and larger than life; plays are intimate, smaller and

tighter.

“This show happened to be a very dark concept, and [the director]

wanted something dark and realistic,” Berlin said. “So I really tried to

actually still be operatic but still realistic at the same time, which is

not normal. It’s not standard.”

While collecting costumes for the show, Berlin had to call various

theaters that had staged “Macbeth.” He kept in mind their sensitivity to

the show’s title.

“Every theater I called, I had to say, ‘I’m doing the Scottish

Opera,”’ Berlin said.

FYI

WHAT: “Macbeth”

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Jan. 20, and 2 p.m.

Jan. 21.

WHERE: The Orange County Performing Arts Center, 600 Town Center

Drive, Costa Mesa

COST: $29-$107

CALL: (714) 740-7878