Marlies’Artbeat: Gounod’s Opera “Roméo et Juliette” – No Second Fiddle, in Met HD

Charles Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette set to music the greatest love-story ever told – and the audience at the Live-at-the-Met-in-HD-at-the-Movies reaped the almost magically seductive benefit. Of course, most credit must go to Shakespeare, for the fabulous inspiration. Next, it should go to the splendid performances of the two leads: the German soprano Diana Damrau and the seductive Italian tenor Vittorio Grigolo. But it may also be due to the overall intelligence of the production by the American Director Barlett Sher.

What is it in the first place that especially captured the world’s imagination about the state of this doomed twosome, tragically caught up in the senseless animosities of their discordant families? To become the decidedly chosen winner of all romances, it had to beat out other famously doomed lovers, like Tristan and Isolde, and Lancelot and Guinevere. A mighty task! It may be their youth, their innocent, endearing inexperience. Or it may be the beauty of Shakespeare’s persuasive words, which the librettists Barbier and Carré frequently picked up – intact -- for Gounod to address.

Based on an Italian tale, said to have already existed in antiquity, Shakespeare tackled it early in his career. Its first published form is a quarto in 1597. To this day it is one of the most performed of his plays, and has been adapted for opera by Gounod, Bellini and a score of others long forgotten. And it’s the base for numerous movies and even ballets. Sometimes the play has been changed to have a happy ending. (A creative liberty that may go a bit too far.)

Gounod (1818-1893) was born in Paris to an artist father, and a pianist mother, who became his first teacher. A talented student, he won the coveted “Prix de Rome,” which sent him abroad for several years -- not just to Italy but all over Europe -- and almost persuaded him to devote his life to the Church. However, after his return to Paris, he decided on a career as composer.

Although forever famous because of the lasting success of Faust, there are those who laude his prowess backhandedly. The prestigious author, Robert Cummings, for instance, wrote: “He could not be called a trailblazer or founder of any movement or school. His works are tuneful, his vocal writing imaginative, and orchestral scoring masterly.” Others dismiss him as too sentimental. But it may be just that, which makes his two successful operas, Faust and Roméo et Juliette, so enjoyable.

And this production, by the famous American theater and opera director Bartlett Sher, certainly is enjoyable. He really captures the drama’s thrust of powerful love and destructive hate. Placing it in18th Century Verona, he uses a single “Piazza” set by the award-winning Texan, Michael Yeargan. Highly effective and imaginative is a huge white sheet that takes on several symbolic roles, including the bed for the one night of nuptial love.

The striking, almost threatening use of the Met’s always excellent chorus and the exciting fencing scenes (staged by the British Fight director B.H. Barry) all helped to sell this opera, as a worthy Gounod contender. (All his other opera attempts are failures, long forgotten.)

The conductor Gianandrea Noseda led the mighty Met orchestra successfully from the opera’s early joyful moments to the heart-rendering finale. Indeed, the last, the fourth duet of the leads, may have been the highlight of the performance.

We are lucky the librettists changed the tomb scene slightly (awakening Juliette, before Roméo’s poison takes full effect,) or the world would have been cheated out of this worthwhile duet, here rendered beautifully.

Damrau and Grigolo make a wonderful team. Not only vocally, but physically. The good -looking tenor has to perform several challenging athletic feats. Not only does he have to fence well, but after climbing up to reach Juliette’s hand in the balcony scene, he leaps down what looks like at least thirty feet, to land on his feet! We make tremendous demands on our singers these days.

In this production all performers really came through. The Russian bass, Mikhail Petrenko, always dependable, made the well-meaning Frére Laurent utterly believable. Canada’s baritone, Elliot Madore, was a worthy impetuous Mercutio. Stéphano (non-existent in the play) was elegantly handled by the French mezzo-soprano, Virginie Verrez. Altogether a remarkable cast.

We, the audience of Live-at-the-Met-in-HD, were especially entertained by the interesting interviews during the intermission, elicited by the spritely host, Ailyn Pérez.

All at the Matinee performance of this stellar Romeo et Juliette, were especially delighted when at curtain-call time, “Divo” Grigolo picked up Diva Damrau, swinging her around in his arms. It proved they were having a great time, too.

And if you missed it all, you can catch it at the Wednesday evening encore, Jan. 25th. and the matinee encore, on Thursday, Jan. 26th, 2017.

A special note:

ROBERTA PETERS

The beauteous coloratura soprano, a super-star around the world, died this week at the age of 86. Peters was catapulted into immediate stardom, when at just 20, she replaced the ailing Nadine Conner, delivering a "front page-news" performance of Zerlina in Mozart’s Don Giovanni. She was to grace the Met stage for the next 35 years in over 500 leading performances; much in demand in Europe; all the while raising her family. Her silvery tone, delivered with incredible ease and always on key; her acting talent and decidedly good looks, made her a favorite all over the world. If you have never heard/seen her, go on line to catch her frequent television vignettes via The New York Times or YouTube.