The Royal Opera last revived its production of Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette ten years ago, with what were then known as the lovebirds, Gheorghiu and Alagna, who imparted their own kind of glamour to the work.
The Royal Opera last revived its production of Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette ten years ago, with what were then known as the lovebirds, Gheorghiu and Alagna, who imparted their own kind of glamour to the work. Nicolas Joël’s production badly needs some pepping up, since it is a desperately static and staid affair, as revived by Stephen Barlow, with some hyperactive running around on the part of the principals, while the chorus remain rooted to whichever spot they are on.
With the drab ‘medieval’ sets and gesturings of the kind that brought operatic direction into seemingly irreparable disrepute, they do nothing to give the illusion that time is passing at a tolerable rate, and the almost four hours of the opera seemed like a ghastly glimpse of eternity.
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