Roméo et Juliette Gounod
MusikTheater an der Wien
Vienna, Austria

CANADIANS: Brett Polegato (Count Capulete)

Text is from the MusikTheater an der Wein website.

“It was the nightingale and not the lark.” This perhaps most famous sentence from perhaps the most famous love story of all time also found its way into Charles Gounod’s “Romeo and Juliet” opera, which first delighted audiences at the Paris World Exhibition in 1867. The whole of France was fascinated by Shakespeare in the 19th century, and so it was only a matter of time before the successful team Gounod and Barbier & Carré took on one of his plays. They were supposed to succeed in the most sensual adaptation of the story with four great love duets alone – no small achievement considering the numerous, primarily cinematic versions of the material, whose aesthetics vary from romantic to hyper-modern. The work of director Marie-Eve Signeyrole is also influenced by film, as she has been regularly behind the camera since the beginning of her career. She also enriches her opera productions with live video, thereby staging great emotions without having to make a grand gesture.

In French with German and English surtitles

Introduction to the work 30 minutes before the start of the performance

occupation
Musical direction Kirill Karabits
Staging Marie-Eve Signeyrole
Stage Fabien Teigné
Costume Yashi
Light Sascha Zauner
Dramaturgy Louis Geisler Kai Weßler

Juliette Melissa Petit
Romeo Julien Behr
Frere Laurent Daniel Mirosław
Mercutio Leon Košavić
Stephano Svetlina Stoyanova
Capulet Brett Polegato
Tybalt Brian Michael Moore
Gertrude Carole Wilson
Le Duc de Verone Alexander Teliga
Paris Andrew Hamilton
Gregorio Timothy Connor
Benvolio Adrian Autard
ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra Vienna

Arnold Schoenberg Choir
(director: Erwin Ortner)