Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane again: The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic has just announced that Riccardo Muti, music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, will lead a concert version of Verdi’s Macbeth in two performances there next May.

Chicago audiences will recall that the CSO’s concert performances of Macbeth in fall 2013, conducted by Muti, were among the highlights of the 2013-14 season. Italian baritone Luca Salsi, who sang the title role at Symphony Center, will join Muti for the performances May 15 and 17 at the Stockholm Concert Hall (Konserthuset). Rounding out the cast will be Korean soprano Vittoria Yeo as Lady Macbeth, Italian tenor Francesco Meli as Macduff (who sang the same role with the CSO) and Russian bass Ildar Abdrazakov as Banquo. The Eric Ericson Chamber Choir will handle choral duties.

“We loved working with Maestro Muti for the Nobel Prize Concert in 2013, and we are delighted that he will perform with us again and explore Macbeth with the orchestra,” said Stefan Forsberg, executive and artistic director of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, in a statement released Sept. 9. “We are very excited to receive him in Stockholm again and are convinced that these performances will become some of the greatest moments in the RSPO history.”

TOP: Muti leads the CSO and vocal soloists in Verdi’s Macbeth during the 2013-14 season. | Todd Rosenberg Photography