“Macbeth” – Act 3

Act Three

Scene 1 A dark cave. In the middle, a boiling cauldron. Thunder and lightning. Witches I. Three times the cat in heat has mewed. II. Three times the hoopoe has lamented and wailed. III. Three times the porcupine has whimpered to the wind. All This is the moment! Come now! Quickly, let us stir the cauldron, mixing powerful ingredients into it in a circle. Sisters, to work! The water already steams, crackles and foams. (throwing into the cauldron) I. You, poisonous toad that sucks the aconite, you, thorn, you, root torn up at twilight, go, cook and bubble in the infernal vessel. II. You, viper’s tongue, you, bat’s hair, you, monkey’s blood, you, mastiff’s tooth, go, boil and writhe in the infernal broth. III. You, finger of an infant strangled at birth, you, lip of a Tartar, you, heart of a heretic, go in, and thicken the infernal brew. All (dancing around) And you, Spirits, black and white, red and blue, stir! You who know well how to mix, stir! Stir!

Scene 2 Macbeth and the preceding. Macbeth (at the entrance, speaking to some of his men) Wait for me in silence until I call. (He advances toward the Witches.) What are you doing, mysterious women? Witches (solemnly) A nameless deed. Macbeth By this infernal deed, I conjure you! Let me know my destiny, though heaven and earth should renew their ancient war. Witches Do you wish to hear it from the unknown powers whom we serve as ministers, or from us? Macbeth Summon them, if they can reveal to me the dark enigma of the future. Witches From the regions below and those above, wandering spirits, rise, descend! (A thunderbolt bursts, and a helmeted head rises from the ground.)

Macbeth Tell me, O spirit... Witches He has read your heart; be silent, and hear his secret words. Apparition O Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! Beware of Macduff; be cautious. Macbeth You strengthen the suspicion I already felt! Just one word... (The Apparition vanishes.) Witches He will answer no questions. Here is another, more powerful than he. (Thunder: a bloodstained child appears.) Be silent, and hear his hidden words. Apparition O Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! You may be bloody and fierce: no one born of woman can harm you. (It vanishes.) Macbeth O Macduff, I spare your life... (fiercely) No!... You shall die! Upon my royal breast, your death shall be a double breastplate! (Thunder and lightning: a crowned child carrying a branch rises into view.) But what does that lightning, that thunder foretell?... A child wearing the crown of kings!

Witches Be silent and listen. Apparition Be of good courage: glorious and invincible you shall be until you see Birnam Wood set out and come against you. (It vanishes.) Macbeth Glad tidings! By no magic power has any forest ever been moved. (to the Witches) Now tell me: must Banquo’s descendants ascend my throne? Witches Do not seek to know! Macbeth I will know! I will know! Or my sword shall fall upon you! (The cauldron sinks into the ground.) The cauldron has vanished! Why? (The sound of bagpipes is heard from underground.) What music is this? Speak! What is happening? Witches I. Appear! II. Appear! III. Appear! All Then, like mist, vanish again. (Eight Kings pass by, one after another. Last comes Banquo, holding a mirror.)

Macbeth (to the first) Away, royal phantom, you remind me of Banquo! Your crown is a bolt of lightning that sets my eyes aflame! (to the second) Away, terrifying image, your brow encircled with bands! (to the others) And still more appear?... (to the others) A third?... A fourth?... A fifth? Oh, what terror!... In the hand of the last a mirror gleams, and new Kings appear in succession within the mysterious glass... It is Banquo! Ah, horrible sight! Laughing, he points them out to me? Die, fated offspring! (He draws his sword and rushes at the spectres, then stops.) Ah, you have no life! (to the Witches) Will they live? Witches They will. Macbeth Oh, I am lost! (He loses consciousness.) Witches He has fainted!... Spirits of the air, restore consciousness to the fainting King!

Scene 3 The Spirits descend, and while they dance around Macbeth, the Witches sing the following. Chorus Undines and Sylphs with white wings, breathe upon that pallid brow. Weave your whirling harmonious dances, and restore his senses and his soul. (The Spirits and Witches disappear.)

Scene 4 Lady Macbeth, Macbeth and Herald. Macbeth (coming to) Where am I?... They have fled!... Oh, may this hour be cursed forever through all the ages! (A Herald enters.) Herald The Queen! Macbeth (What?) Lady Macbeth (entering) I have found you at last! What are you doing? Macbeth I questioned the Witches again. Lady Macbeth And what did they say? Macbeth Beware of Macduff. Lady Macbeth Go on. Macbeth No one born of woman shall kill you. Lady Macbeth Go on. Macbeth You shall be invincible until Birnam Wood moves against you. Lady Macbeth Go on. Macbeth But Banquo’s line appeared to me... and it shall reign! Lady Macbeth A lie! Death and destruction upon that wicked race! Macbeth Yes, death! Let Macduff’s castle burn! Let his wife and children perish! Lady Macbeth Let Banquo’s son be found and die! Macbeth Let all blood hostile to us be shed! Lady Macbeth Now I recognize your old courage. Both Hour of death and vengeance, thunder, resound throughout the whole world, as the deafening, dark thought has stunned every fibre of the heart. Hour of death, hasten now! Fate has written an indelible decree: crime must bring the deed to completion, since it was begun with blood.

libretto by Dmitrii Murashev