Macbeth

Opera Colorado is bringing Verdi's Macbeth to The Ellie Caulkins Opera House this month, with performances on November 7, 10, 13, and 15. It's a fully staged mainstage production, sung in Italian with English and Spanish captions, so you can follow the story even if you aren't fluent. The venue is part of the Denver Performing Arts Complex at 14th and Arapahoe, right in downtown Denver.

On stage, Norman Garrett takes the title role of Macbeth, with Marcy Stonikas as Lady Macbeth. Edward Graves plays Macduff, Kenneth Kellogg is Banquo, and Matthew Plenk is Malcolm. The supporting cast includes Wei Wu as the Doctor, Xiao Xiao as the Lady-in-Waiting, and Mason O'Brien, Emily Thompson, and Bridget Ravenscraft as the three apparitions. The chorus is led by Sahar Nouri.

Behind the scenes, the orchestra is conducted by Patrick Summers, who spent fifteen years as Music Director of Houston Grand Opera from 2011 to 2026. The production is directed by Dan Wallace Miller, founder of Vespertine Opera Theater, who has also staged works with Seattle Opera and San Francisco Opera. They've set the story in 11th-century Scotland and framed it as an exploration of how whispers become prophecy and how the stories we spread help create the forces that undo us—essentially asking what happens when rumor turns into power.

If you're coming to the show, there's a free pre-performance lecture in the Studio Loft one hour before each performance, which is a good way to get your bearings before the curtain goes up. The opera itself premiered on March 14, 1847, at the Teatro della Pergola in Florence, with a libretto by Francesco Maria Piave and Andrea Maffei. You can catch it on November 7, 10, 13, or 15 at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House.