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| Review: Plácido Domingo Is Gone, but He Still Haunted ‘Macbeth’ | Review: Plácido Domingo Is Gone, but He Still Haunted ‘Macbeth’ |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| For regulars at the Metropolitan Opera, alarms immediately go off when an usher hands you a program with a white slip of paper inserted. “Uh oh, someone’s not singing,” you think. “What happened?” | For regulars at the Metropolitan Opera, alarms immediately go off when an usher hands you a program with a white slip of paper inserted. “Uh oh, someone’s not singing,” you think. “What happened?” |
| There was an insert for the performance of Verdi’s “Macbeth” on Wednesday. But in this case, everyone at the house, and most people who follow opera throughout the world, surely knew what had happened. | There was an insert for the performance of Verdi’s “Macbeth” on Wednesday. But in this case, everyone at the house, and most people who follow opera throughout the world, surely knew what had happened. |
| On Tuesday, the news broke that, given growing internal tensions over the Met’s response to allegations from multiple women that Plácido Domingo had sexually harassed them, he was withdrawing not just from “Macbeth,” but also leaving the company for good after a momentous 51-year association. | On Tuesday, the news broke that, given growing internal tensions over the Met’s response to allegations from multiple women that Plácido Domingo had sexually harassed them, he was withdrawing not just from “Macbeth,” but also leaving the company for good after a momentous 51-year association. |
| Mr. Domingo has been under a sexual harassment investigation at Los Angeles Opera, a company he runs, since August. The Met had initially opted for a wait-and-see approach before making any moves of its own. (Mr. Domingo has denied wrongdoing, saying that his relationships with women have been “welcomed and consensual.”) But at the Met, reports of backstage unease among singers, orchestra musicians and staff about the uncomfortable working environment that permeated the house after Mr. Domingo showed up for “Macbeth” rehearsals made his continued presence untenable. Whether the Met pushed Mr. Domingo to leave or he took the first step, as the company suggested in a statement, does not really matter. | Mr. Domingo has been under a sexual harassment investigation at Los Angeles Opera, a company he runs, since August. The Met had initially opted for a wait-and-see approach before making any moves of its own. (Mr. Domingo has denied wrongdoing, saying that his relationships with women have been “welcomed and consensual.”) But at the Met, reports of backstage unease among singers, orchestra musicians and staff about the uncomfortable working environment that permeated the house after Mr. Domingo showed up for “Macbeth” rehearsals made his continued presence untenable. Whether the Met pushed Mr. Domingo to leave or he took the first step, as the company suggested in a statement, does not really matter. |
| Yet, what did happen? How could the Met have not settled a clearer course of action with Mr. Domingo weeks ago? These questions hovered over Wednesday’s performance. | Yet, what did happen? How could the Met have not settled a clearer course of action with Mr. Domingo weeks ago? These questions hovered over Wednesday’s performance. |
| There was no announcement from the stage, only the blunt white slip indicating the role of Macbeth would be sung by Zeljko Lucic, “replacing Plácido Domingo.” (Mr. Lucic was already scheduled to take over the title role for the final three, of six, performances in this run.) There were no protests outside or inside the house, either against or on behalf of Mr. Domingo, who has many tenaciously loyal fans. | There was no announcement from the stage, only the blunt white slip indicating the role of Macbeth would be sung by Zeljko Lucic, “replacing Plácido Domingo.” (Mr. Lucic was already scheduled to take over the title role for the final three, of six, performances in this run.) There were no protests outside or inside the house, either against or on behalf of Mr. Domingo, who has many tenaciously loyal fans. |
| More information is bound to come out, and there is much for the Met, the field of classical music, and society at large, to grapple with. But one of the most colossal careers in opera history seems to be over — at least at the Met, and perhaps in the United States. As of now, his performance as Germont in Verdi’s “La Traviata” on April 27 will go down as his final Met appearance. | More information is bound to come out, and there is much for the Met, the field of classical music, and society at large, to grapple with. But one of the most colossal careers in opera history seems to be over — at least at the Met, and perhaps in the United States. As of now, his performance as Germont in Verdi’s “La Traviata” on April 27 will go down as his final Met appearance. |
| You have to admire the Met’s intrepid cast, chorus and orchestra for rallying on Wednesday. Mr. Lucic, a major baritone, sang Macbeth when the Met introduced Adrian Noble’s gripping production in 2007. He returned for a revival in 2014, in which Anna Netrebko sang her first Lady Macbeth at the house, a thrilling performance and another milestone in her career. Pairing two superstars — Ms. Netrebko and Mr. Domingo — had been the selling point of this latest revival. Instead, the reunited Ms. Netrebko and Mr. Lucic could draw upon their past experience together. | |
| Still, the stress of an 11th-hour upheaval may have had an effect: There was a feeling of concerted effort, as if an entire company of dedicated artists were digging in as best it could, despite the energetic and articulate playing the conductor Marco Armiliato drew from the orchestra. | Still, the stress of an 11th-hour upheaval may have had an effect: There was a feeling of concerted effort, as if an entire company of dedicated artists were digging in as best it could, despite the energetic and articulate playing the conductor Marco Armiliato drew from the orchestra. |
| That Mr. Domingo, 78, prolonged his career for a decade by remaking himself into a baritone was, depending on your perspective, a remarkable achievement or an act of self-indulgence. Yet, though his voice often sounded a little leathery and worn in baritone roles, he usually compensated with intensity and charisma. | That Mr. Domingo, 78, prolonged his career for a decade by remaking himself into a baritone was, depending on your perspective, a remarkable achievement or an act of self-indulgence. Yet, though his voice often sounded a little leathery and worn in baritone roles, he usually compensated with intensity and charisma. |
| Mr. Lucic has the advantage of being a true baritone. On Wednesday, as always, his singing was warm, mellow and full-bodied without being forced. He brought melting legato phrasing to lyrical passages. His sound may lack some Italianate richness, and his tone tends to be focused, with minimal vibrato. This can expose moments of faulty pitch, which happened on Wednesday — especially during his final scene, when Macbeth, in a grim soliloquy, realizes that he is about to be vanquished for his murderous ambition. Yet, during much of the evening, especially in Macbeth’s brooding moments, he sang with grave beauty and affecting emotional vulnerability. | Mr. Lucic has the advantage of being a true baritone. On Wednesday, as always, his singing was warm, mellow and full-bodied without being forced. He brought melting legato phrasing to lyrical passages. His sound may lack some Italianate richness, and his tone tends to be focused, with minimal vibrato. This can expose moments of faulty pitch, which happened on Wednesday — especially during his final scene, when Macbeth, in a grim soliloquy, realizes that he is about to be vanquished for his murderous ambition. Yet, during much of the evening, especially in Macbeth’s brooding moments, he sang with grave beauty and affecting emotional vulnerability. |
| Ms. Netrebko, by contrast, was afire with intensity as the calculating Lady Macbeth. That she seized the stage from Mr. Lucic actually worked dramatically, since it is Lady Macbeth who pushes her husband to embrace his destiny and murder his way to the throne. | Ms. Netrebko, by contrast, was afire with intensity as the calculating Lady Macbeth. That she seized the stage from Mr. Lucic actually worked dramatically, since it is Lady Macbeth who pushes her husband to embrace his destiny and murder his way to the throne. |
| As is often the case with Ms. Netrebko, she took some time to warm up. But from her first scene, in which she reads aloud Macbeth’s letter explaining the mysterious prophesies of the witches, Ms. Netrebko sang with a mesmerizing blend of steely resolve and seductive allure. And during the tour de force sleepwalking scene — Lady Macbeth’s final moments, when she imagines her hands covered with blood that cannot be washed away — Ms. Netrebko was in a zone, one moment emitting chilling outbursts, the next shaping haunted phrases with eerily hushed radiance. | As is often the case with Ms. Netrebko, she took some time to warm up. But from her first scene, in which she reads aloud Macbeth’s letter explaining the mysterious prophesies of the witches, Ms. Netrebko sang with a mesmerizing blend of steely resolve and seductive allure. And during the tour de force sleepwalking scene — Lady Macbeth’s final moments, when she imagines her hands covered with blood that cannot be washed away — Ms. Netrebko was in a zone, one moment emitting chilling outbursts, the next shaping haunted phrases with eerily hushed radiance. |
| The strong cast included the bass Ildar Abdrazakov as Banquo, Macbeth’s loyal military comrade who becomes his victim; the tenor Giuseppe Filianoti as Malcolm, the shaken son of murdered King Duncan; and the tenor Matthew Polenzani as the nobleman Macduff, who finally rallies the forces of opposition and helps restores Malcolm to the throne. | The strong cast included the bass Ildar Abdrazakov as Banquo, Macbeth’s loyal military comrade who becomes his victim; the tenor Giuseppe Filianoti as Malcolm, the shaken son of murdered King Duncan; and the tenor Matthew Polenzani as the nobleman Macduff, who finally rallies the forces of opposition and helps restores Malcolm to the throne. |
| Mr. Polenzani brought anguished fervor to Macduff’s intense Act IV aria when he learns that his wife and children have been killed. The choral ensembles were stirring and effective, especially those for the women portraying Verdi’s witches, depicted in this staging as like a sisterhood of frumpily dressed yet menacing bag ladies. | Mr. Polenzani brought anguished fervor to Macduff’s intense Act IV aria when he learns that his wife and children have been killed. The choral ensembles were stirring and effective, especially those for the women portraying Verdi’s witches, depicted in this staging as like a sisterhood of frumpily dressed yet menacing bag ladies. |
| Despite all the distressing news and confusion surrounding Mr. Domingo, the audience seemed eager to support the artists on the first night of a Met Opera without him. There were bravos galore and bouquets tossed onstage — one of which was deftly caught by a smiling Ms. Netrebko. | Despite all the distressing news and confusion surrounding Mr. Domingo, the audience seemed eager to support the artists on the first night of a Met Opera without him. There were bravos galore and bouquets tossed onstage — one of which was deftly caught by a smiling Ms. Netrebko. |
| Macbeth | Macbeth |
| Through Oct. 12 at the Metropolitan Opera, Lincoln Center; metopera.org. | Through Oct. 12 at the Metropolitan Opera, Lincoln Center; metopera.org. |