The first performance I felt was bland and fell short of what I would imagine was a moment of pure desperation for lady Macbeth. To begin the actress Jane Lapotaire did a poor job at convincing that she was even sleep walking. Her emphasis on "out damned spot" was not at all how I imagined a woman such as lady Macbeth to express herself. Her movements were more representative of a desperate morning search for a Starbucks than a person punished by their conscience.

The sorrowful expression on the face of Judi Dench captured the meaning of that speech perfectly. The tears showed her remorseful condition. Her screech was enough to force the video forward 15 seconds in time in hopes of hearing it no more only to find her still wailing away, which I guess means she did her job.

Shirley Verrett's rendition was enjoyable as far as the music is concerned. It seems that if it wasn't for me knowing what the scene was about I could very well believe her to have been searching for her missing cat. As far as her physical gestures go you can't blame her much, she is singing her heart out which is hard enough.

For me the better of the versions would be the second one by Judi Dench. It was the only performance which I felt expressed human desperation the best. It seemed as if she was the only actress that understood that Lady Macbeth played a part in murder. The sense of paranoia she summoned, the way she paused before saying blood, all these things tied her performance together quite well.