Romeo and Juliet Oct-Nov 2010 ROH

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Romeo and Juliet
Oct-Nov 2010
The Royal Opera House
Covent Garden
London

Gounod’s grand opera on Shakespeare’s famous romance returns. As the lovers, the acclaimed tenor Piotr Bezcala plays opposite Nino Machaldze /Maria Alejandres. Nicholas Joël’s rich period production is matched to a great score of melody and range – a treat in the French operatic repertory, especially as here under conductor Daniel Oren.

Alfie will sing the role of Tybalt

Dates (still may be subject to change)
26, 29 October
1, 5, 8, 11, 13, 17 November

Booking CLICK HERE

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Running time: 3 hours 45 minutes | 2 Intervals

* Sung in French with English surtitles

* Co-production with the
Théâtre du Capitole, Toulouse, and the Opéra-Comique, Paris.

Background
Shakespeare’s tragedy of doomed young love receives a wonderful interpretation in Gounod’s opera. It combines all the drama of the well-known story and the emotional and stirring music typical of the composer of Faust. Not presented by The Royal Opera for a decade, Nicolas Joël’s production is revived with a fantastic cast conducted by French specialist Daniel Oren, and that has Piotr Beczala and Nino Machaidze/María Alejandres as the star-crossed lovers. The opera is especially famous for its love duets and for such sparkling numbers as Juliette’s Act I waltz song, but the whole score is full of passion, melody and excitement. With the many ensembles, choruses and characters it is a wonderful showcase for the talents of the Royal Opera Chorus and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House. Grand opera in grand form makes this one of the most exciting returns of a Season coloured by French repertory.

Credits
Composer
Charles-François Gounod

Director
Nicolas Joël

Designs
Carlo Tommasi

Lighting design
Bruno Boyer

Performers

Conductor
Daniel Oren

Roméo
Piotr Beczala

Juliette
Nino Machaidze
María Alejandres

Mercutio
Stéphane Degout

Tybalt
Alfie Boe

Duke of Verona
Simon Neal

Gertrude
Diana Montague

Frére Laurent
Vitalij Kowaljow

Count Capulet
Darren Jeffery

Count Paris
ZhengZhong Zhou§

Trailer CLICK HERE

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Introduction
Gounod and his librettists drew their plot directly from Shakespeare’s popular play, remaining broadly faithful to its plot and poetry, while re-clothing the characters and their situations in the richly lyrical musical language of mid-19th-century French opera.

An arch-Romantic, Charles Gounod had already turned Goethe’s Faust (1859) into an opera that quickly won worldwide and long-term popularity before exploring the possibilities of Roméo and Juliette (1867). He produced a work entirely suited to his own gifts and one that retains a heady fragrance, especially in its sequence of no less than four duets for the two lovers. The music alternates Second Empire opulence with delicacy, and bold drama with intimate refinement.

Synopsis
Prologue

The chorus outlines the ancient feud between the Montagues and Capulets, and how the fatal love of Roméo and Juliette brought it to an end.

ACT I

A splendid ball at the Capulets’ house

Paris admires the lovely Juliette. Gertrude, Juliette’s old nurse, tells her that Paris will make a good husband, but Juliette is intent upon living the joys of youth to the full.

Roméo and Mercutio – members of the hated Montague family – have gatecrashed the ball in disguise. Roméo sees Juliette, and is instantly struck by love. Roméo flirts with Juliette, and manages to avoid a confrontation with her cousin Tybalt by slipping away.

ACT II

The garden of the Capulets’ house

Aided by his page Stéphano, Roméo climbs into Juliette’s garden and sings of his love for her. Juliette appears and the two declare their love, aware of its potentially fearful consequences. Roméo must flee before he is discovered. Just before he departs, Juliette proposes that they should marry.

ACT III

Frère Laurent’s cell

Roméo and Juliette arrive at Frère Laurent’s cell to be married. The friar has agreed to wed them as a way of ending their families’ feud.

A street outside the Capulets’ house

A fight ensues between the Capulets and Montagues. Mercutio joins in on the Montagues’ side, Tybalt and Paris on the Capulets’.

Mercutio is killed and Roméo kills Tybalt in revenge. Hearing of the fray, the Duke of Verona appears and exiles Roméo.

ACT IV

Juliette’s room

Roméo comes to bid farewell to Juliette and beg her forgiveness for killing Tybalt. She forgives him. They regard this occasion as their wedding night and sing of its rapture. As dawn comes, they part reluctantly.

Juliette’s father enters with news of her imminent marriage to Paris. After he has left, Frère Laurent arrives with a special potion for Juliette. It will make her appear dead for a day, so that she can avoid the wedding, then he and Roméo will rescue her from the tomb.

In the Capulet palace

Juliette collapses, seemingly dead, at her wedding celebration.

ACT V

The Capulets’ Tomb

Juliette sleeps, as if dead. Roméo enters, stricken with grief. He contemplates her beauty, and then kisses her before taking poison. Juliette starts to wake up, bewildered at first but slowly understanding the situation when Roméo admits that he has taken poison. She stabs herself and they die in each other’s arms.

Characters
Roméo: A young member of the Montague family, engaged in a deadly and continual feud with the Capulets; in love with his mortal enemy’s daughter.
Tenor

Juliette: Capulet’s young daughter, betrothed to Paris but in love with Roméo – her family’s great enemy.
Soprano

Tybalt: the hot-headed and aggressive nephew of Lady Capulet, he precipitates the duel which leads to his own death and Roméo’s banishment.
Tenor

Paris: a nobleman related to the Duke and a friend of the Capulets; Juliette’s betrothed.
Baritone

Mercutio: Roméo’s friend, he accompanies him to the Capulets’ ball and teases him about his love affairs. He is later killed in the affray by Tybalt.
Baritone

Capulet: Juliette’s father and autocratic head of the Capulet family, he maintains the age-old feud with the Montagues.
Bass

Frère Laurent: a Franciscan friar (Shakespeare’s Friar Laurence), he agrees to marry Roméo and Juliette as a way of bringing the feud to an end. His message alerting Roméo to the potion Juliette has taken remains undelivered, with tragic consequences.
Bass

Gertrude: Juliette’s old nurse and her closest confidante.
Mezzo-soprano

Stéphano: Roméo’s cheeky young page, his ribald song at the expense of the Capulets launches the dispute that ends with Tybalt’s death and exile for his master.
Soprano

Grégorio: Capulet’s servant.
Baritone

Duke of Verona: The local ruler, so disturbed by the ongoing fighting by the Montagues and Capulets that he intervenes and banishes Roméo.
Bass

Source: ROH

[KathyC]

Stopped by the site on my lunch hour to see if there was any Les Mis news, and saw the lovely note from Alfie about his appearance in Romeo and Juliet. Loved his "early to bed..." comment

So many interesting things coming up for Alfie -- makes me wish I was living on that side of the ocean. *sigh* oh well...