It came as no surprise that director Simon Godwin chose to make his operatic debut staging a production of Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette for Glimmerglass. Currently artistic director of Washington DC's Shakespeare Theatre Company, his interest in Romeo and Juliet spans multiple decades, including a version of the tragedy (successfully adapted into a film) for London’s National Theatre in 2020. Diving into the Verona lovers’ story, as simplified by Gounod’s librettists, seemed to be a natural next step. Godwin opts for a production that is “both timely and timeless”, able to speak to today’s public while reinforcing both the epic scale and the intimate character of the original.
In the prologue, Tybalt, disguised as Death and acting as a raisonneur, dominates the entire cast of characters lamenting the fate of Roméo and Juliette. The scene at the Capulets is turned upside down. It is not a ball full of suave movements, but a rather raucous commedia dell’arte scene with garlands of light bulbs, acrobatic gestures, animal tamers, weightlifters and bearded women. Mercutio appears in an extra-colourful garb with green, high-heeled boots. A ridiculously looking Pâris emerges from a huge cake. Loren Shaw's costumes are similarly convention-bending: Roméo appears in a pink suit while Juliette, singing “happiness flies off forever”, is dressed in a sky-blue gown with arms adorned with wings.
Godwin’s ironic accents continue to pop up. Roméo is seen descending from Juliette’s balcony before climbing back up the stairs; Friar Laurence brews tea, not a magic potion, before Roméo (in a business suit) and Juliette ( in a flowery dress) arrive. The second scene of Act 3, with its atmosphere reminiscent of West Side Story, unfolds in a lively contemporary Italian piazzetta with ice cream vendors, patrolling police officers, and hoodlums hanging around under arcades. The fights are well choreographed (Jonathan Goddard) but lack naturalness. With set designer Dan Soule’s generic props recycled in various positions and the level of directorial inventiveness noticeably waning, the last two acts are more conventional.
Four extensive duets are the backbone of Gounod's opera. He intended them as a progression from a formally restricted madrigal, during the lovers’ furtive encounter at the ball, to their musically freer final scene when, at the brink of death, the lovers recall earlier themes and their voices merge into one. Magdalena Kuźma and Duke Kim, whose chemistry together was not always great, began with overreaching voices, and only gradually tempered their powerful instruments to bring more dynamic flexibility to their melodic lines. If the Juliette's “Je veux vivre” sounded constrained, despite Kuźma's penetrating voice, her evocation of Tybalt’s ghost in the fourth act’s “Amour, ranime mon courage” was truly enticing. Impassionate, with a supple stage presence, Kim delivered a colourful version of “Ah! lève-toi, soleil”. At the start of their careers, both singers show great promise.
As always, the performance in the Busch Opera Theater featured multiple members of the Glimmerglass Young Artists Program, showcasing the admirable level of training offered, including very clean French pronunciation. With a warm and rounded baritone voice, Olivier Zerouali was excellent as Roméo's sidekick, Mercutio. Between the recklessness displayed in the Queen Mab ballad and the seriousness in his death scene, he also proved to have remarkable acting versatility. Tenor Hayden Smith did not fully succeed in conveying Tybalt’s choleric and menacing nature. Bass Sergio Martinez portrayed Frère Laurent's compassion with care and serenity, while bass-baritone Stefano de Peppo was as effective as his voice allowed in the role of Juliette’s domineering father.
Among the singers getting just a few minutes before the public, mezzo Lisa Marie Rogali made a strong impression in the trouser role of Stéphano, Roméo’s page, delivering her third act “Que fais-tu, blanche tourterelle?” with gusto and mellifluous phrasing, while her acting was full of youthful élan. As Gertrude, deep-voiced contralto Meredith Arwady struggled a bit to find her correct pitch. In the Duke’s role (here costumed as a police chief) bass-baritone John Mburu was steadfast.
Music Director Joseph Colaneri again proved his ability to navigate a middle course between the score’s letter and spirit, on one side, and the whims and insecurities of singers of different generations, on the other. He offered the soloists great support, helming an orchestra that sounded solid and dependable.
