The story of Macbeth has been the object of many original texts and their transformations over the centuries. This essay focuses on the major intersemiotic transfers that can be traced from William Shakespeare’s tragedy to Giuseppe Verdi’s opera, and from Verdi’s libretto to some of its transpositions for today’s opera performers and audiences. The concept of intersemiotic transcreation is here introduced and discussed with reference to the many polysemiotic texts that the figure of Macbeth has inspired over time. There follows a detailed analysis of two contemporary English versions of Verdi’s Macbeth, whose differences are revealing of the array of possibilities offered by transcreative processes, but also of the variety of functions such texts are called to perform today.
The Worlds and Words of Macbeth: From Shakespeare to a Contemporary Opera Stage
Di Giovanni, E.;Raffi F.
2023-01-01
Abstract
The story of Macbeth has been the object of many original texts and their transformations over the centuries. This essay focuses on the major intersemiotic transfers that can be traced from William Shakespeare’s tragedy to Giuseppe Verdi’s opera, and from Verdi’s libretto to some of its transpositions for today’s opera performers and audiences. The concept of intersemiotic transcreation is here introduced and discussed with reference to the many polysemiotic texts that the figure of Macbeth has inspired over time. There follows a detailed analysis of two contemporary English versions of Verdi’s Macbeth, whose differences are revealing of the array of possibilities offered by transcreative processes, but also of the variety of functions such texts are called to perform today.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
