當女巫的預言宣告馬克白將軍終將成為國王時，野心驅使著馬克白和他的夫人開始了一系列篡位奪權的陰謀與屠殺…

《馬克白》改編自莎士比亞悲劇名作，被認為是威爾第最具戲劇性的歌劇作品。這位歌劇大師一生創作了多部以莎士比亞戲劇為腳本的歌劇，《馬克白》是首部也是最受尊崇的一部，他的作曲才華在《馬克白》中達到了新的境界，為這一經典注入了邪惡能量。

英國皇家歌劇院本版製作由塞爾維亞男中音澤利科·盧西奇（Željko Lučić）領銜，搭檔明星女高音安娜‧涅翠柯（Anna Netrebko），共同出演這對文學史上惡名遠播的夫妻。英國著名導演菲莉妲·洛伊德（Phyllida Lloyd）對馬克白夫婦暴力行徑之下的黑暗過往與悲慘遭際進行挖掘解讀，以黑、紅、金的色調為劇中人物賦予無法抗拒的宿命之感。

The warrior Macbeth fights on the side of the King of Scotland – but when a coven of witches prophesy that he shall become king himself, a ruthless ambition drives Macbeth and his wife to horrific acts. Murder makes Macbeth king, and intrigue and butchery are the hallmarks of his brief, doomed reign. The witches make another prediction, which also comes true: Macbeth and his lady lose their lives, and justice is restored.

Verdi's life-long love affair with Shakespeare's works began with Macbeth, a play he considered to be 'one of the greatest creations of man'. With his librettist Francesco Maria Piave Verdi set out to create 'something out of the ordinary'. Their success is borne out in every bar of a score that sees Verdi at his most theatrical: it bristles with demonic energy.

Phyllida Lloyd's 2002 production for The Royal Opera is richly hued, shot through with black, red and gold. The witches – imagined by designer Anthony Ward as strange, scarlet-turbaned creatures – are ever-present agents of fate. Lloyd depicts the Macbeths' childlessness as the dark sadness lurking behind their terrible deeds. The Royal Opera's production uses Verdi's 1865 Paris revision of the opera, which includes Lady Macbeth's riveting aria 'La luce langue'.