Macbeth - influence of performances from the 1880s

The London Philharmonic Orchestra continues to explore how composers have been inspired by Shakespeare’s plays as we take part in the Shakespeare400 celebrations. At the end of February we performed Strauss’ overture Macbeth, and before the concert we invited Lucy Munro, lecturer in Shakespeare at Kings College London, to put the music in the context of the history of spectacular theatrical productions of Macbeth in London in the 1880s. With reviews from the critics and contemporary accounts of the performances, we get a glimpse of how audiences and writers were interested in the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, in Lady Macbeth’s interactions and manipulation of her husband, and questions of ethics and gender. Dr Munro was joined by actors Tom Lincoln and Eva Feiler who gave us two very different portrayals of the dynamic between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth in one of the key persuasion scenes. Visit lpo.org.uk for full details of all the LPO's concerts and recordings.