Theatro Municipal (São Paulo) tickets 31 October 2025 - Macbeth | GoComGo.com

Macbeth

Theatro Municipal (São Paulo), Sao Paulo, Brazil
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8 PM

E-tickets: Print at home or at the box office of the event if so specified. You will find more information in your booking confirmation email.

You can only select the category, and not the exact seats.
If you order 2 or 3 tickets: your seats will be next to each other.
If you order 4 or more tickets: your seats will be next to each other, or, if this is not possible, we will provide a combination of groups of seats (at least in pairs, for example 2+2 or 2+3).

Important Info
Type: Opera
City: Sao Paulo, Brazil
Starts at: 20:00
Duration: 3h

E-tickets: Print at home or at the box office of the event if so specified. You will find more information in your booking confirmation email.

You can only select the category, and not the exact seats.
If you order 2 or 3 tickets: your seats will be next to each other.
If you order 4 or more tickets: your seats will be next to each other, or, if this is not possible, we will provide a combination of groups of seats (at least in pairs, for example 2+2 or 2+3).

Cast
Performers
Conductor: Roberto Minczuk
Bass-Baritone: Craig Colclough (Macbeth)
Tenor: Giovanni Tristacci (Macduff)
Soprano: Marigona Qerkezi (Lady Macbeth)
Choir: Municipal Lyrical Choir
Orchestra: Municipal Symphony Orchestra
Bass: Savio Sperandio (Banquo)
Creators
Composer: Giuseppe Verdi
Librettist: Andrea Maffei
Director: Elisa Ohtake
Librettist: Francesco Maria Piave
Author: William Shakespeare
Overview

Elisa Ohtake, known for her bold, contemporary approach to stagecraft, will bring new light to Macbeth's complex story of power, ambition, and death.

With a diverse background in dance and theater, Ohtake has already explored Shakespeare's work with her thought-provoking *Play for Grown-Ups Made by Children*, in which children play Hamlet.

In this production of Macbeth, directed by multi-artist Elisa Ohtake, Giuseppe Verdi's deep connection with Shakespeare is revived. Although he didn't speak English, Verdi saw the Bard's Italian translation as a true treasure, revolutionizing Italian opera by infusing his characters with the dramatic depth and vivid intensity that Shakespeare brought to English drama. Verdi, a born theater man, conducted his music to create a constant atmosphere of mystery and anguish, without allowing for any interruptions that might interrupt the viewer's engagement.

Premiered in 1847 in Florence, Macbeth was conceived during what Verdi called his "galera years," a period in which he was struggling to establish himself on the Italian opera scene. With a libretto by Francesco Maria Piave and additions by Andrea Maffei, the opera was well-received at its premiere, but disappeared from the stage for almost a century, in part due to the demands of the role of Lady Macbeth, considered an extreme challenge for sopranos.

History
Premiere of this production: 18 March 1847, Teatro della Pergola, Florence

Macbeth is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi, with an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave and additions by Andrea Maffei, based on William Shakespeare's play of the same name. Written for the Teatro della Pergola in Florence, it was Verdi's tenth opera and premiered on 14 March 1847. Macbeth was the first Shakespeare play that Verdi adapted for the operatic stage. Almost twenty years later, Macbeth was revised and expanded in a French version and given in Paris on 19 April 1865.

Synopsis

Place: Scotland
Time: 11th century

Act 1

Scene 1: A heath

Groups of witches gather in a wood beside a battlefield, exchanging stories of the "evils" they have done. The victorious generals Macbeth and Banco enter. The witches hail Macbeth as Thane of Glamis (a title he already holds by inheritance), Thane of Cawdor, and king "hereafter." Banco is greeted as "lesser than Macbeth, but greater", never a king himself, but the progenitor of a line of future kings. The witches vanish, and messengers from the king appear naming Macbeth Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth protests that the holder of that title is still alive, but the messengers reply that the former Thane has been executed as a traitor. Banco, mistrusting the witches, is horrified to find that they have spoken the truth. In a duet, Macbeth and Banco muse that the first of the witches' prophecies has been fulfilled. Macbeth ponders how close he is to the throne, and whether fate will crown him without his taking action, yet dreams of blood and treachery: while Banco ponders on whether the minions of Hell will sometimes reveal an honest truth in order to lead one to future damnation.

Scene 2: Macbeth's castle

Lady Macbeth reads a letter from her husband telling of the encounter with the witches. She is determined to propel Macbeth to the throne - by fair means or foul.

Lady Macbeth is advised that King Duncan will stay in the castle that night; she is determined to see him killed (Or tutti, sorgete / "Arise now, all you ministers of hell"). When Macbeth returns she urges him to take the opportunity to kill the King. The King and the nobles arrive and Macbeth is emboldened to carry out the murder (Mi si affaccia un pugnal? / "Is this a dagger which I see before me?"), but afterwards is filled with horror. Disgusted at his cowardice, Lady Macbeth completes the crime, incriminating the sleeping guards by smearing them with Duncan's blood and planting on them Macbeth's dagger. Macduff arrives for an appointment with the King, while Banco stands guard, only for Macduff instead to discover the murder. He rouses the castle while Banco also bears witness to the fact of Duncan's murder. The chorus calls on God to avenge the killing (Schiudi, inferno, . . / "Open wide thy gaping maw, O Hell").

Act 2

Scene 1: A room in the castle

Macbeth is now king: Duncan's son Malcolm has fled the country, suspicion having conveniently fallen on him for his father's murder: but Macbeth is still disturbed by the prophecy that Banco, not he, will found a great royal line. To prevent this he tells his wife that he will have both Banco and his son murdered as they come to a banquet.

Scene 2: Outside the castle

A gang of murderers lie in wait. Banco, sensing danger shares his misgivings with his son. (Come dal ciel precipita / "O, how the darkness falls from heaven"). The murderers attack and stab him to death, but his son escapes.

Scene 3: A dining hall in the castle

Macbeth receives the guests and Lady Macbeth sings a brindisi (Si colmi il calice / "Fill up the cup"). The assassination is reported to Macbeth, but when he returns to the table the ghost of Banco is sitting in his place. Macbeth raves at the ghost and the horrified guests believe he has gone mad. Lady Macbeth manages to calm the situation once - and even mocks it by calling for a toast to the absent Banco (whose death is not yet public knowledge), only for the ghost to appear a second time and terrify Macbeth into insanity again. Macduff resolves to leave the country, saying it is ruled by a cursed hand and only the wicked may remain: the other guests are terrified by Macbeth's talk of ghosts, phantoms and witches. The banquet ends abruptly with their hurried, frightened departure.

Act 3

The witches' cave

The witches gather around a cauldron in a dark cave. Macbeth enters and they conjure up three apparitions for him. The first advises him to beware of Macduff. The second tells him that he cannot be harmed by a man 'born of woman'. The third that he cannot be conquered till Birnam Wood marches against him. (Macbeth: O lieto augurio / "O, happy augury! No wood has ever moved by magic power")

Macbeth is then shown the ghost of Banco and his descendants, eight future Kings of Scotland, verifying the original prophecy. (Macbeth: Fuggi regal fantasima / "Begone, royal phantom that reminds me of Banco"). He collapses, but regains consciousness in the castle.

The act ends with Macbeth recovering and resolving to assert his authority: Vada in fiamme, e in polve cada / "Macduff's lofty stronghold shall / Be set fire....".

Act 4

Scene 1: Near the border between England and Scotland

Scottish refugees stand near the English border (Chorus: Patria oppressa / "Down-trodden country"):
While each version uses the same libretto, the music of this chorus is different. It begins with a less ominous, much shorter orchestral introduction and is sung straight through by the entire chorus.

In the distance lies Birnam Wood. Macduff is determined to avenge the deaths of his wife and children at the hands of the tyrant (Ah, la paterna mano / "Ah, the paternal hand"). He is joined by Malcolm, the son of King Duncan, and the English army. Malcolm orders each soldier to cut a branch from a tree in Birnam Wood and carry it as they attack Macbeth's army. They are determined to liberate Scotland from tyranny (Chorus: La patria tradita / "Our country betrayed").

Scene 2: Macbeth's castle

A doctor and a servant observe the Queen as she walks in her sleep, wringing her hands and attempting to clean them of blood (Una macchia è qui tuttora! / "Yet here's a spot"). She raves about the deaths of both Duncan and Banco, and even about the deaths of Macduff's family, and that all the perfumes of Arabia would not clean the blood off her hands: all are things that the horrified witnesses would never dare to repeat to any living man.

Scene 3: The battlefield

Macbeth has learned that an army of Scottish rebels backed by England is advancing against him, but is reassured by remembering the words of the apparitions, that no man born of woman can harm him. However, in an aria (Pietà, rispetto, amore / "Compassion, honour, love") he contemplates the fact that he is already hated and feared: there will be no compassion, honour and love for him in his old age even if he wins this battle, nor kind words on a royal tomb, only curses and hatred. He receives the news of the Queen's death with indifference. Rallying his troops he learns that Birnam Wood has indeed come to his castle. Battle is joined.

Macduff pursues and fights Macbeth who falls. He tells Macbeth that he was not "born of woman" but "ripped" from his mother's womb. Fighting continues. Mortally wounded, Macbeth, in a final aria - Mal per me che m'affidai / "Trusting in the prophecies of Hell" - proclaims that trusting in these prophecies has caused his downfall. He dies on stage, while Macduff's men proclaim Malcolm to be the new King.

Venue Info

Theatro Municipal (São Paulo) - Sao Paulo
Location   Praça Ramos de Azevedo, s/n

Welcome to one of Brazil's greatest opera houses. Theatro Municipal de São Paulo doors open to the city and the world, a stage prepared to create and deliver memorable and accessible experiences, welcoming classical and contemporary artistic expressions.

The luxurious building, visibly influenced by European opera houses, was built as an aspirational symbol of São Paulo's high society, which, with the abundance of the coffee cycle, desired a performance venue worthy of its European wealth and ambitions to host the great artists of lyrical music and theater.

The project, designed by the Ramos de Azevedo firm—in collaboration with Italians Cláudio Rossi and Domiziano Rossi—began in 1903 and was handed over to the city eight years later. In September 1911, the Municipal Theater opened to distinguished guests before a crowd of 20,000 people, dazzled by the pomp and spectacular lighting for the time—the building was the first to be fully powered by electricity.

The Municipal's stage featured the most important companies of the first half of the 20th century, featuring names such as Enrico Caruso, Maria Callas, Bidu Sayão, Arturo Toscanini, Camargo Guarnieri, Villa-Lobos, Francisco Mignone, Ana Pawlova, Arthur Rubinstein, Claudio Arrau, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Isadora Duncan, Nijinsky, and Baryshnikov, among many others. Always extending beyond the classical scene, it crowned its cosmopolitan vocation by hosting one of the most important events in the history of the arts in Brazil, the SEMANA DE 22 (WEEK OF '22), featuring Mário and Oswald de Andrade, Anita Malfatti, and many other celebrated young artists who launched the Brazilian modernist movement.

In its over 100-year history, three major renovations have preserved, renovated, and expanded the Theater, which now boasts a restored building. In 2012, the Praça das Artes facility was created to house artistic groups, the municipal music and dance schools, and the multiple activities of the Municipal Theater Complex.

Important Info
Type: Opera
City: Sao Paulo, Brazil
Starts at: 20:00
Duration: 3h
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