IN HER HANDS: The Tragedy of Lady Macbeth (2024)

Essential Opera presented a workshop performance of a new opera by Fiona M. Ryan, directed by Emily Jewer.

Inspired by Shakespeare’s Macbeth, composer/librettist Fiona M. Ryan masterfully created a hauntingly beautiful score that gives a powerful voice to Lady Macbeth (Erin Bardua). Ryan’s libretto combines Shakespeare’s words with new text, highlighting the machinations of the goddess Hecate (Maureen Batt), the Weird Sisters (Thera Barclay, Winona Myles, Elizabeth Stepkowski Tarhan) and the figure of Duncan (Danielle Buonaiuto) to reimagine this classic tragedy.

In the words of Ryan’s version of Hecate: “What stories would my followers tell / If the chroniclers had sought them out to record their words?” 

Essential Opera first began developing In Her Hands with Ryan in 2020, and gave the work first-stage exploratory workshops in 2022. This second-stage production directed by Emily Jewer brought the work further to life with staging, special effects, and a perfectly cast team of vocal and instrumental artists. The instrumental ensemble featured Joël Cormier, percussion, and Kirsty Money, violin and nyckelharpa.