It may sound incredibly weird for a BMW 5 Series to star in a play written in 1847 but stranger things have happened. Furthermore, we’ve seen modern reinterpretations of Macbeth both on the stage and on the silver screen so the fact that a 5 Series starred in the opening show of the season at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan really shouldn’t raise too many eyebrows.
This time it was Giuseppe Verdi’s opera play that wowed the crowd, under the direction of maestro Riccardo Chailly and Davide Livermore, featuring a set imagined by Gio Forma. The stage featured a number of interesting designs, from skyscrapers to forests and, of course, an all-black BMW 5 Series, used by the protagonist to cross the Scottish woodlands alongside Banco in the first act, in a dark atmosphere, filled with lightning and thunder.
The car could also be seen in the following scenes, as the director had it simulate a trip through the forest in a similar fashion to what Christopher Nolan included in his “Inception” masterpiece. The show marked the 70th anniversary of Macbeth being played at the Teatro all Scala, on December 7. The show, directed by Riccardo Chailly, is considered the last of a trilogy he created, following in the footsteps of Joan of Arc in 2015 and Attila in 2018.
The stage saw the performances of some of the best voices of our times. The main singer was Anna Netrebko, the most revered and sought-after voice on the international stage, who celebrated her fifth inaugural representation in the show. Luca Salsi, one of the best Verdi baritones out there played Macbeth while Francesco Meli, a professor who already played eight Verdi characters, was the man behind Macduff. Banco was played by Ildar Abdrazakov while people like Ivan Ayon Rivas and Chiara Isotton played other characters as well.
