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‘Macbeth’ at Chicago Shakespeare: Like a hell-broth, boil and bubble – and mix this magic in

May 11, 2018 – 3:07 pm
Feature 1 Liz Lauren

Review: If ever there was a play meant for the sleight of Teller’s magicianly hand, it is Shakespeare’s “Macbeth.” The Scottish tragedy is all about what appears to be there, but is not. Ambiguity, misdirection, illusion: This is the stuff of “Macbeth,” and it forms the clever heart of the play’s current incarnation at Chicago Shakespeare Theater. I should hasten to add that Teller is only co-director; his fellow conspirator is Aaron Posner, whose invisible hand operates more on the dramatic side of events and indeed quickens both the show’s pace and the viewer’s pulse. ★★★★

Chicago Shakes’ ‘Macbeth’ for young adults explores the dangers of unchecked ambition

Jan 22, 2015 – 6:10 pm
The unnerving reality of their bloody coup begins to catch up with Macbeth (Chris Genebach) and Lady Macbeth (Lanise Antoine Shelley). (Liz Lauren)

Preview: Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” is a tale told by an idiot full of…no, wait a sec. That’s not right. The idiotic tale is life – life itself, which Shakespeare’s reckless, overreaching, murderous Macbeth has messed up beyond redemption. In its 75-minute reduction of the Bard’s Scottish play aimed at junior high and high school students, Chicago Shakespeare Theater explores themes of power and evil, personal accountability and the dire consequences of rash action. “Macbeth” opens Jan. 24 at CST.

Chicago Opera Theater buffs up neglected jewel in high-tech staging of Bloch’s grand ‘Macbeth’

Sep 17, 2014 – 3:12 pm
Nmon Ford in title role of Ernest Bloch' 'Macbeth' at Chicago Opera Theater (Keith Ian Polakoff)

Review: When Swiss-born Ernest Bloch began to contemplate the creation of his first and only opera, “Macbeth,” he was an untested 25 and would turn 30 before his opus found footing at the Opéra-Comique in Paris. The opera then slipped into oblivion. What is surprising is how staggeringly good Bloch’s result is — for an opera that almost no one knows. ★★★

Russian soprano’s venomous Lady Macbeth sets tone in Chicago Symphony’s Verdi thriller

Sep 30, 2013 – 3:15 pm
Dramatic coloratura soprano Tatiana Serjan as Lady Macbeth with Riccardo Muti and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus Sept. 28, 2013 (© Todd Rosenberg)

Review: Tatiana Serjan is a flat-out thrilling soprano who exudes the temperament of a lioness. She is a Lady Macbeth in her early prime. There isn’t a better place to be this week than Chicago’s Orchestra Hall, where the Russian-born Serjan sings in Verdi’s “Macbeth” under ideal conditions — in concert with other emerging opera stars and the superb forces of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus under Riccardo Muti. ★★★★★