Romeo et JulietteOpera in 5 Acts
Music by Charles GOUNOD
Libretto in French by Jules Barbier and Michel Carre after Shakespeare's play
First performance, Paris 1867
Roberto Alagna, Angela Gheorghiu
Czech Philharmonic conducted by Anton Guadagno
Directed for film by Barbara Willis Sweete
This adaptation of probably literature's most famous love story hews closely to the original, although the scenarios are considerably condensed to fit into an hour's DVD viewing. Act I opens immediately with the famous waltz, Je veux vivre, skipping the brief Queen Mab speech. The lovers first meet in this ballroom, or party, scene.
Also, Scene I in Act III, the lovers' secret wedding, is placed at the end of the Act, and some characters have been ommitted as well.
The story is a familiar one: the long-standing feud between the Montagues and the Capulets stands in the way between the two lovers, with fatal results.
I think the idea of serenading the girl in the balcony comes precisely from this play, the whole Act II rests on the balcony scene where as in the play, Juliet proposes marriage.
The real life couple, the Corsican tenor Roberto Alagna and his wife, Romanian soprano Angela Gheorghiu have made this opera their own. With perfect French and soaring lyrical voices, this operatic couple performed superbly, especially since this opera is filled with long duets (I counted four in all). The soprano nailed her coloraturas in the Waltz Scene a la Donizetti while the tenor floated his top notes as if he were singing Verdi.
Thankfully, the ballet scene was ommitted. The French demanded a ballet to be inserted in those days, it didn't matter if it made no sense at all, and Gounod simply obliged.
The cinematography is wonderful, shot on location in a castle in the middle of a beautiful lake (is this in Germany or in the Czech Republic?).
For those not willing to spend two or three hours on an honest-to-goodness opera, this one-hour condensed DVD opera is a perfect alternative.
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