High expectations work against this "Macbeth"

Shakespeare called the three witches in "Macbeth" the "weird sisters," but both Shakespeare might have found it considerably weirder to see the three witches morph into a coven of several dozen, who are onstage in almost every scene. Wearing wedding dresses, widow's weeds, and what looked like miles of veiling, the witches crawled or slunk throughout Seattle Opera's new production of Verdi's "Macbeth," designed by Robert Israel — who has produced some of the company's most venturesome, though not always most successful, operas of the past.

It's impossible to expect a company to operate at a constant A-plus level, but given the high expectations Seattle Opera generates, this ambitious but sometimes uneven "Macbeth" was a bit of a letdown. From the opening moments of the show, when director Bernard Uzan staged the overture (not usually a good sign) to have a presumably youthful Lady Macbeth stabbing and decapitating a doll with the assistance of several witches, this "Macbeth" wavered between the convincing and the nonsensical.

With the action brought forward into the mid-19th century, some of the ensemble scenes were staged brilliantly (such as the scene in Birnam Wood where Macduff and Malcolm rally the troops). Israel's boxy, bare-walls set was turned to great use in Lady Macbeth's sleepwalking scene, when the walls began to ooze blood.

Other aspects were less successful. The production team acted as if it had just discovered the McCaw Hall stage-floor trapdoors, which were overused to the extent that when the newly slain Macbeth suddenly started sinking downward, the audience responded with titters.

The cast was strong, although Uzan had apparently trained the principals in the Silent Film School of Melodrama: lots of bulging eyes and sudden lurches. In the title role, Gordon Hawkins showed considerable depth in his commanding interpretation, and his burnished baritone is a good fit for Verdi's musical requirements. Hawkins is able to convey the essential conflicts of this complex character, making his determination, confusion and anguish very real.

Andrea Gruber threw herself into the role of Lady Macbeth, in a take-no-prisoners interpretation that grabbed the listener's imagination. She is riveting to hear and to watch. On the minus side, however, is a vocal wobble that sometimes stretches to two semitones. On Saturday night, Gruber gave so much and so unrestrainedly that she didn't have quite enough steam left for the crucial final notes of the sleepwalking aria.

The supporting roles were mostly excellent, particularly the Macduff of Joseph Calleja and the Malcolm of Leodigario del Rosario. Burak Bilgili was a moving, effective Banquo; the three apparitions (Byron Ellis, David Korn and Max Seifert) were fine, as was Scott Webster's Duncan, and company regular Archie Drake proved that he still has the right stuff at 81.

Lighting designer Christopher Akerlind found some imaginative ways to illuminate Israel's sets, though some of the lurid purples and a couple of spotlights aimed into the house were distracting, to say the least.

This production brought the Seattle debut of conductor Nicola Luisotti, who led the orchestra, chorus and principals with a sure touch and a great sense of drama. An active and exuberant maestro, he kept all the forces in balance, whether the scene was quiet and intimate or one of those all-stops-out Verdi finales.

The orchestra played brilliantly for him, and Beth Kirchhoff's chorus was equally responsive. Verdi's score was in good hands.