Roméo et Juliette, Bartlett Sher’s production of Gounod’s sumptuous Shakespeare adaptation, 04/05/2018

The Metropolitan Opera Saturday Matinee ends the 2017-2018 season with an espectacular bang!

Roméo et Juliette, Bartlett Sher’s production of Gounod’s sumptuous Shakespeare adaptation was a hit of the 2016–17 Met season (“a revelation” declared the Huffington Post). Now the sweeping tragedy returns with Ailyn Pérez and Charles Castronovo as the star-crossed young lovers. Plácido Domingo conducts. Roméo et Juliette is an excellent example of French Romanticism, a tradition that values subtlety, sensuality, and graceful vocal delivery over showy effects. In the opera there is a slight shift of focus away from the word games of the original play and a greater focus on the two lovers, who are given four irresistible duets, including a brief final reunion in the tomb scene that does not appear in the play.

[ The Met matinee will be back this Fall.]