Word: macbeth
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...relaxed but efficient atmosphere. "He's cool," says Trumpeter Melvyn Broiles. "I've never seen him flip out. He doesn't blow his top." Even at pressure-filled moments, such as the dress rehearsal of the Met's new production of Verdi's Macbeth recently, Levine maintains his equanimity. When backstage noise threatened to drown out the singers, he only briefly raised his voice: "Come on, people, we're trying to have a dress rehearsal here!" he shouted, continuing to conduct. The talking ceased...
Verdi: I would like Lady Macbeth ugly and bad; I would like Lady not to sing; I would like a harsh, stifled, grim voice. I would like Lady's voice to be diabolical...
Interviewer: Although Macbeth was a success when first performed in 1847 in Florence, you were upset by its failure in Paris, where it closed after only 14 performances. So you must be pleased with the Met's extravagant production, led passionately by Conductor James Levine...
Verdi: I see the papers are already beginning to speak of this Macbeth...
Interviewer: Perhaps we'll even begin to consider Macbeth a masterpiece...