Gounod: Roméo et Juliette
O'Flynn,
Vargas, DiDonato, Bunnell, Pittas, Degout, Sigmundsson, et al.
Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus
de
Billy, Joosten
14 November 2005 - Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center, New York City
NEW YORK — Laughter at the opera house can be good. Giggles
during the wedding night scene in Roméo et Juliette are not.
Gounod's opera returned to the Metropolitan Opera House on Monday night in a new production by Belgian director Guy Joosten, who was making his company debut. Apparently taking his cue from the prologue of the Shakespeare play, which refers to "a pair of star-cross'd lovers," Joosten injected astronomy into the opera.
While the sides of the stage were brown with trompe l'oeil paintings of Veronese architecture and the floor was a tan checkerboard pattern, at the center was a raked turntable with an astrological table (with the signs in French). There were various backdrops visible through a stage-high round portal, showing a galaxy, the moon and the sun (shining and in eclipse). It was as if the Teatro Olimpico was remodeled into a planetarium.
Instead of setting the fourth act in Juliette's bedroom, the action begins with the lovers on a bed that appeared to be floating high above the stage, covered with billowing white sheets. The backdrop and the stage were filled with hundreds of tiny stars.
While some in the audience laughed, others shushed them. It looked like a scene out of The Jetsons or perhaps Lost in Space.
All the galactic imagery was a bit heavy-handed. But the biggest star was missing from the premiere: French coloratura soprano Natalie Dessay came down with a cold Monday and was replaced by Maureen O'Flynn, who sang opposite the Romeo of Ramón Vargas.
Not since September 1967 had the Met staged a new Roméo et Juliette, and back then it was for Franco Corelli and Mirella Freni.
During the prologue, the Montagues and Capulets sing of their feud and of the lovers, who are laid out on a black catafalque. After that was the ball over at the Capulets, with the turntable spinning during the busy scene. Romeo and Juliet even took off their masks, which were on sticks, and staged a mock duel.
Vargas gave a strong performance as Romeo, his voice lyrical and strong although slightly pinched at louder levels. O'Flynn made her Met debut as Juliet on April 1, 1998, toward the end of the last revival. She had a winning smile and a softness about her acting. Her coloratura, while good, was not up to Dessay's sensational level. There were some hard edges when pushed, especially during her waltz, "Je veux vivre."
There was much to savor in the smaller roles, from macho-filled performances by tenor Dimitri Pittas as Tybalt and baritone Stéphane Degout, who made his company debut as Mercutio. Jane Bunnell displayed excellent French diction as Juliette's nurse, Gertrude, and Kristinn Sigmundsson was a rotund Friar Laurence who went with the flow. Joyce DiDonato added spunk as Stephano, Romeo's page.
Choreographer Seán Curran, making his Met debut, kept the fight scenes brief. The costumes were colorful, with Montagues in blues and greens, and Capulets in reds and oranges, and the five acts were performed with just one intermission.
Bertrand de Billy, who made his Met debut in the 1998 revival, showed a knowing technique for this repertoire, driving an idiomatic performance of the score, in which prior cuts were restored in the second-act duet, the fourth-act wedding night and quartet, the nuptial procession and ballet finale between the fourth and fifth acts, and the fifth-act opening.
The production team of Joosten, set designer Johannes Leiacker, costume designer Jorge Jara and lighting designer David Cunningham (who wore a kilt for his curtain call), received mostly cheers with a smattering of boos.
Dessay remains scheduled to sing the remaining five performances through December 1, and four of the five when it returns from February 21-March 9.
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