“Heartbeat tackles our first work by Verdi, creating a reordered, 90-minute version of Macbeth entitled Lady M. We center Lady Macbeth’s experience, looking at the story through a contemporary American lens. What does it mean to be an ambitious, driven woman today? How do power and wealth corrupt? And how do we strip away clichés that have accumulated around this story -- and the character of Lady Macbeth in particular -- in order to encounter this thrilling material in a fresh way? For 6 singers and 7 players, our adaptation features electronics, cutting-edge sound design, and three female soloists as the Witches, honoring Shakespeare’s original text and bringing Verdi’s thrilling music to life in surprising and otherworldly new ways including surround sound, vocal distortion, pitch manipulation, texture, and exaggerated dynamic contrast.” Director, Ethan Heard

Each 45-minute virtual soirée will include: a welcome toast, introductory remarks, brief live performance, video screening of new documentary and music video, and Q&A.

Lady M // Felicia Moore
Macbeth // Quentin Lee
Banquo // Tyler Putnam
Weird Sisters // Sishel Claverie, Taylor-Alexis Dupont, and Jamilyn Manning-White

Directed and adapted by Ethan Heard
Arranged by Daniel Schlosberg
Music directed from the violin by Jacob Ashworth