I went to see the Met broadcast of Verdi's Macbeth, and it's my favorite that I've seen from their repertory. The sets, the costumes, and the music were all enchanting.

I've collected some set design illustrations from the revised 1865 Paris show from Wiki Commons. Great site, that one. I'll try and add some more context here. These illustrations are by Charles-Antoine Cambon.

The post image is my favorite of them. It's the main set for act 3, when Macbeth questions the witches about their prophecy and interprets it as meaning that he is unable to be killed. I love the loose sketching of the foreground, the haunting figures perched above, and the implied details of the ruins.

Act 1 Second Tableau:

The above is the set design drawing for Macbeth's castle, and below is a print made for advertising the production. I believe the scene is when the king's body is discovered and everyone is alerted to his death.

Act 2 Scene 5:

This was my favorite scene in the whole show, in which Macbeth learns that his plot to kill Banquo succeeded but his son escaped. Macbeth has a vision of his victim during the party and then his lady tries to smooth everything over. I love how the music gives it a manic energy at the beginning and then is used for dramatic irony later in the scene. Here's the scene being performed by the Lyric theater of Chicago.

And, finally, I went digging for information on this artist and found this incredible collection that shows how sets were designed in the period. Spectacular stuff. They didn't have anything for Macbeth, but here is a miniature that Cambon did for the set design of Jeanne d'Arc:

These are gorgeous. Thanks for sharing and for the write up. :)