Saturday Afternoon at the Opera continues its Canadian season with the broadcast of Charles Gounod’s Romeo and Juliette.
The libretto, by Jules Barbier and Michel Carre, is based on the tragedy by William Shakespeare. It was first performed in Paris in 1867 and was Gounod’s first great success. The Vancouver Opera presentation stars one of this country’s fastest-rising sopranos, Simone Osborne, with tenor Gordon Gietz as Romeo.
It has been a very busy season for Osborne. She made her role debut as Gilda in the Canadian Opera Company’s production of Rigoletto before her homecoming appearance in Romeo and Juliette. She graduated less than four years ago from UBC and is sincerely thankful for her quick ascent, as you’ll hear in this slideshow.
The enduring story of Romeo and Juliette is set in Verona in the days when rival families fought often and almost always to the death. Romeo Capulet falls truly, madly and deeply for Juliette Montague after seeing her at a masked ball. Romeo and his friends had crashed the party and are thrown out by Tybalt, Juliette’s hot-headed cousin.
Romeo sneaks into Juliette’s garden and hides under the famous balcony. She appears and the forbidden lovers make their pledge. They tiptoe to the friar who marries them in the hope it will end the family feud.
No such luck. The fighting continues with Tybalt killing Romeo’s best friend Mercutio. Romeo then kills Tybalt and is banished.
The young lovers enjoy one night and one morning of love before reality and family honour intrude. Juliette’s father gives her away to Count Paris.
Juliette takes a sleeping potion so that it looks like she has died. Her family, distraught at her apparent death, sends her body to the family tomb. When Romeo finds her in the tomb, he, too, believes she has died and takes a dose of poison. Just before he succumbs, Juliette wakes up and they sing together one more time. Once he has finally perished, she stabs herself.
If they can’t be together in life, they will be together in death.
This act-by-act full synopsis will keep you informed as you listen.
The cast also includes:
Gordon Gietz, Romeo
Aaron St. Clair Nicholson, Mercutio
Antoine Belanger, Tybalt
Peter Volpe, Frere Laurent
Jacques Lacombe, Conductor
Alison Grant, Director
Meet the cast at one of their rehearsals:
Romeo and Juliette can be heard on Saturday Afternoon at the Opera beginning at the usual start time of 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 12. (2:00 - 6:00 AT, 2:30 - 6:30 NT)
What lines from Shakespeare’s play do you still remember after memorizing them? Let us know in the comment section below.
Related links:
Review in the Georgia Straight