Roméo et Juliette

Music by Charles Gounod
Libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré
Based on the play by William Shakespeare 

20-minute intermission between Acts III & IV

Friday, February 23, 7:30-10:30 pm
Sunday, February 25, 2:30-5:30 pm

English version supertitles by Dr. Theo Baker as originally published by G. Schirmer Inc. (1925), compiled and edited by Curtis Crafton.

Annah Detwiler, Darin Vickery

Creative Team

Production Team

 1 Concert master, 2 Principal

Melinda & Phillip Sander
Esther Simplot
Mihaela Bozdog & Steve Mills
Sharon Christoph
Claire Fenton & James Fullinwider
Vicke & Walt Lee
Karen & Christopher Meyer
Betty Munis & David New

The Morrison Center staff
Cottonwood Grill, host of pre-performance dinner
The Riverside Hotel & The Sapphire Room, host of Operatinis
Valiant Productions
Guest Artists’ housing & transportation provided by The Grove Hotel, Hotel 43, The Riverside Hotel, OnPoint Property Management, Lyle Pearson, Phil & Joan Ehrnstein, Glenn & Michelle Zausmer
Margaret & Willy Gorrisen, vintage costume donation

by Jennifer Williams

Roméo et Juliette is about the fight for love in a society obsessed with violence. As an artist, I always begin my process with the questions, Why this story? Why now? Roméo et Juliette is both timeless and timely: in 2024, we live in a moment permeated with violence, both domestically and internationally. The fight for love is more crucial than ever.

Shakespeare based Romeo and Juliet on the classical myth of Pyramus and Thisbe, which appears in Ovid’s Metamorphoses. The epic poem depicts two ill-fated lovers torn apart by the turmoil of Babylon. Pyramus and Thisbe are likely better known to Shakespeare (and Benjamin Britten) enthusiasts from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The play appeared in print in several versions between the first quarto (1597) and its inclusion in the First Folio of 1623. Superlatively popular from its inception to our present day, Romeo and Juliet has been the source of numerous adaptations, including Prokofiev’s 1938 ballet; Leonard Bernstein’s 1957 West Side Story; Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 film starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Clare Danes; and the 2019 West End and Broadway musical, & Juliet. Charles Gounod’s 1867 operatic adaptation for Paris’s Théâtre Lyrique followed his celebrated Faust as well as two other well-known musical treatments of Shakespeare’s tragedy: Bellini’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi (1830) and Berlioz’s “dramatic symphony” (1839).

In the spirit of Romeo and Juliet’s long history of contemporary intersections, the production sets the story in our present moment. The setting invites the audience to experience the story through a poetic lens rather than an everyday depiction. In place of a traditional set is a kinetic sculpture that shapeshifts with the story: it illuminates the universe of the “star-crossed lovers,” expresses the crumbling of tumultuous Verona, and reveals the silvery purity of the love Romeo and Juliet chase after. Just as Shakespeare updated Ovid’s Babylon to 14^th-century Verona but costumed the actors in the dress of their own present time, this production holds a mirror to the violence and corruption of Babylon and Verona that we see in our own society in order to set it in opposition with Romeo and Juliet’s inextinguishable love. Stéphano and Le Duc celebrate the tradition of “pants roles” in opera and broaden its horizons. A familiar example of a traditional pants role is Cherubino, whom audiences may remember from The Marriage of Figaro earlier in Opera Idaho’s season. Gertrude (Shakespeare’s “Nurse”) in this modern setting is Juliet’s godmother – disillusioned with Verona, with a past perhaps not unlike Juliet’s. Friar Lawrence is the lone voice of faith, piecing together his own religion from Verona’s rubble. 

In many ways, the story is a race against time. Juliet is the end of the Capulet family line. She has no siblings: it is her cousin, Tybalt, who presses for her marriage with Paris. There is no Lady Capulet in the opera, only Capulet, a single parent. When Juliet evades her marriage to Paris and ends her life at the end of Shakespeare’s play, she also negates the blood feud between the Capulets and Montagues. Without a succession in the family line, there are no further generations to continue the war between two houses in Verona. The feud destroys their love, but Romeo and Juliet also destroy the feud. Whether love has actually won remains an open question.

by Andy Anderson

Charles Gounod’s opera Roméo et Juliette premiered in 1867 and soon after became a permanent member of the standard opera repertoire. Although Faust is considered Gounod’s masterpiece, Roméo et Juliette holds its own place in the composer’s cannon as a masterpiece of vocal prowess. The libretto for the opera sticks closely to the original Shakespeare. As the action and drama of the opera move forward, the flow of the text changes and becomes closer to the flow of the Shakespeare.

There are several "musical motifs" that Gounod uses to highlight moments in the opera. The "love theme" is heard several times when Roméo and Juliette are on stage together. We first hear this theme played by four cellos. This theme is then picked up by the full orchestra. We hear this theme again during the balcony scene in Act 2 and again at the top of Act 4, while we see the two young lovers the morning after their marriage. Friar Laurence is often identified by the use of the plagal cadence. The most characteristic usage of the plagal cadence in Western music is with the final "Amen" at the end of a hymn in Christian churches. (Outside of the 12 operas he wrote, Gounod was also a prolific composer for the church.) Additionally, there are themes representing tension, conflict, and the tragic fate of the two lovers.

Gounod’s orchestration is rich and lush and uses a large, romantic size orchestra. In some of the more delicate scenes, Gounod reduces the orchestra to use only a couple of players. The juxtaposition of full and then chamber size orchestra helps to set the scenes and moods of the story. Gounod’s music has a strand of romantic sentiment that is continued in the operas of Massenet, and classical restraint and elegance that influenced Fauré. And, for all of the Wagner fans, here’s a little Easter egg: the opening measure of Roméo et Juliette is note for note, an exact replica of the first measure of Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman. Gounod did this as a little nod to someone he considered a musical hero.

Prologue
Verona, Italy. A chorus tells of the endless feud between the Montague and Capulet families, and of the love of their children, Roméo and Juliette.

Act I
At a masked ball at the Capulet palace, Juliette’s cousin Tybalt assures Count Pâris that Juliette, who has been promised to him, will enchant him. Capulet presents his daughter to the guests and invites them to dance. Mercutio and Roméo, a Montague, have donned masks to sneak into the ball, together with other friends. Roméo tells them about a strange dream he has had, but Mercutio dismisses it as the work of the fairy Queen Mab. Roméo watches Juliette dance and instantly falls in love with her. Juliette explains to her nurse, Gertrude, that she has no interest in marriage, but when Roméo approaches her in a quiet moment, both feel that they are meant for each other. Just as they discover each other’s identities, Tybalt happens upon them and recognizes Roméo. Capulet prevents him from attacking Roméo, who, with his friends, beats a hasty retreat.

Act II
Later that night, Roméo enters the Capulets’ Garden, looking for Juliette. When she steps out onto her balcony, he declares his love. Servants briefly interrupt their encounter. When they are alone once again, Juliette assures Roméo that she will be his forever.

Act III
Roméo visits Frère Laurent in his cell and confesses his love for Juliette. Shortly thereafter, she also appears with Gertrude. Hoping that their love might reconcile their families, Frère Laurent marries them.

Outside the Capulet palace, Roméo’s page, Stéphano, sings a song about a turtledove imprisoned in a nest of vultures. This angers several of the Capulets. Mercutio comes to Stéphano’s aid, but soon Tybalt challenges him to fight. Roméo steps between them and asks Tybalt to forget about the hatred between their families. Tybalt has nothing but scorn for him, and when he kills Mercutio in their duel, Roméo slays Tybalt. The Duke of Verona appears and, after partisans of both families demand justice, exiles Roméo.

Act IV
Roméo and Juliette have spent their secret wedding night in her room. She forgives him for killing Tybalt. The newlyweds passionately declare their love as day is dawning. They can hardly bring themselves to say goodbye. After Roméo has left, Capulet appears, together with Frère Laurent, and announces to his daughter that she is to marry Pâris that same day. Desperate, Juliette turns to Frère Laurent, who gives her a potion that will make her appear to be dead. He promises that she will awaken with Roméo beside her. Love lends Juliette courage: She overcomes her fear and drinks the poison.

Act V
Roméo arrives at the Capulets’ crypt. Discovering Juliette’s body, he believes her to be dead and drinks poison. At that moment, she awakens, and the lovers share a final dream of a future together. As Roméo grows weaker, Juliette takes a dagger from his belt and stabs herself. The lovers die praying for God’s forgiveness.