Pierre Dumoussaud has officially started his role as musical director with a production of Verdi's Macbeth at the Opéra Normandie Rouen, directed by Ambre Kahan. This marks Kahan's first operatic production, with her upcoming staging of Pinocchio by François-Bernard Boussaguet scheduled for November. The production is a co-production with the Opéra de Bordeaux. Some have described the staging as a mix of ideas from previous productions, which has raised questions about its originality and overall coherence. The set design by Anne-Sophie Grac features catacombs in the first two acts, a choice that echoes the same setting used in the 2023 production of Roméo et Juliette by Gounod at the same venue. In the third act, large rocks arranged in a semicircle are included, reminiscent of the rock from the Ring cycle by Patrice Chéreau. The set also includes a painting of La Chute des Damnées by Rubens at the center, alongside writings in a style resembling Aramaic on the rocks. The costumes by Colombe Lauriot-Prévost are said to have no clear connection to the sets. Lady Macbeth is dressed in a green gown with visible seams, a look previously seen in other productions. Her servant, who appears as a double, is positioned in front of mirrors, a reference to the staging of Hamlet by Krzysztof Warlikowski currently being performed at the Opéra Bastille. Macbeth and Banco are dressed in traditional Scottish kilts, a choice that aligns with the time and place of the opera's libretto. Banco is shown carrying a head in a bag at the beginning of the opera and at the end, Macbeth's head is also shown, a visual previously seen in a recent production. The witches are depicted with mirrors on their foreheads, a symbol previously used in a recent production of Semiramide by Rossini at the same venue. The production includes ghostly apparitions emerging from a barrel, a moment that could evoke the play Fin de Partie by Samuel Beckett. Dumoussaud conducts the orchestra, which was initially too loud but was better balanced later in the performance. The orchestra is capable of conveying a strong energy, though some instruments such as the cornets, oboe, and flute were not always clear in their duets. The opera is performed in the definitive Milanese version in Italian, including the aria La luce langue and the ballet. Dumoussaud maintains an energetic flow rather than slowing the tempi as one might expect based on his previous interpretations of other operas.