Romeo et Juliette

Synopsis

Romeo and Juliet, the star crossed lovers who meet untimely death.

Our Review:

27 October 2010

Seeing the Royal Opera’s production of Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette is like being cast back to a bygone era.  There’s little directorial intervention in Nicolas Joël’s staging and an almost tasteless literalism about the sets, costumes and, it has to be said, some of the acting.  

None of this gets in the way of a glorious score and a thoroughly enjoyable evening for a work that could hardly be said to be over-exposed (this is only the production’s second revival since 1994).

Of the two slavic leading voices – Georgian soprano Nino Machaidze as Juliette and Polish tenor Piotr Beczala as Roméo – it’s the latter who comes off better in this repertoire.  He pushes the ardency at times but vocally Beczala’s on the best form he’s been since he first appeared at Covent Garden six years ago. His ringing and powerful tenor is absolutely world-class and a joy t...

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Latest User Review

Frederick Pyne - 28 October 2010:

I agree a somewhat old fashioned production with long pauses for scene changes which make one think 'get on with it'! On my first viewing of this opera I left felling perhaps once is enough....

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