By Robert D. Thomas
Music Critic
Pasadena Star-News/San Gabriel Valley Tribune/Whittier Daily News
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LA Opera: Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette
Saturday, November 12, 2011 • Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
Next performances: November 17 at 7:30 p.m. November 19 and 20 at 2 p.m.
Information: www.laopera.com
Nino Machaidze and Vittorio Grigolo play the lead roles in LA Opera’s production of Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, now playing at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.
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I’m not sure exactly when it hit me — probably somewhere near the end of the balcony scene of Gounod’s Roméo et Juiette last night — but it sort of crept up on me that it’s been several years since LA Opera mounted a really bad production. If you liked the company’s presentation of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen (which I emphatically did), then the weakest evening in quite some time was last season’s presentation of Lohengrin and even if you didn’t think much of the production concept (which I didn’t), that performance had much to recommend it.
Last season began with the scintillating production of Daniel Catán’s Il Postino and also included The Marriage of Figaro, Rigoletto, Il Turco in Italia and The Turn of the Screw — all top-notch presentation. This season opened with Eugene Onegin and Cosi Fan Tutte, the former (as I wrote) often riveting, the latter one of the best things that LAO has ever done. That’s quite an impressive run and Roméo et Juiette, a revival of LA Opera’s 2005 production, certainly adds to that list.
At least some of the reason for the success has been the company’s ability to cast imaginatively with singers who have either been relatively unknown (e.g., Charles Castronovo in Il Postino) or taking on a role for the first time (e.g., Patricia Racette in The Turn of the Screw). Tonight was yet another chapter in that ongoing story.
Gounod’s retelling of the famous Shakespeare tale isn’t a great opera (although it isn’t as bad as some critics think). Considering that (as Michael Hackett noted in his preconcert lecture) Gounod and his librettists, Jules Barbier and Michael Carre, were translating Shakespeare’s 16th century English play about a story set in 15th century Verona into a in 19th century opera in France that we’re viewing in the 21st century, it’s a wonder that it works as well as it does.
However, there’s no real reason to mount this opera unless you have two special singer-actors in the starring roles. In 2005, LAO led with Rolando Villazón and Anna Netrebko who were just emerging as the hottest couple in the operatic firmament.
In his program-book letter, LAO General Director Plácido Domingo wrote, “Although I have been eager to revive Roméo, I was willing to wait until I could find the perfect duo for the title roles.” The wait was worth it, and if you haven’t seen Vittorio Grigolo and Nino Machaidze as the star-crossed lovers, you should certainly get yourself to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion for one of the last three performances because they are special. Although it’s always risky to make these sort of predictions, you may one day look back and say, “I was there.”
In view of the fact that the lead characters are supposed to be adolescents who can pour out miles of mature adult singing, Gounod was seeking the impossible, roughly equivalent to Wagner’s troubles in casting the title role of Siegfried (the two operas were written at about the same time; Roméo et Juliette premiered in 1867, nine years before Siegfried).
However, the 34-year-old Grigolo and the 28-year-old Machaidze are about as close to the ideal as we’re going to get and that’s a good thing on several fronts. For one thing, John Gunther’s imaginative sets — sort of a cross between an erector set and Disneyland’s New Orleans Square — require Grigolo to scamper up and down metal ladders, often while singing his heart out. For another, the two genuinely seem inflamed with each other, always a good thing when portraying these most famous lovers — in fact, they couldn’t seem to keep their hands off each other once they first met (well, don’t you remember what it was like to be a teenager with hormones raging?).
More importantly, Grigolo and Machaidze sing gorgeously — boy, do they ever. Gounod gives them five love duets and plenty of other opportunities and they take full advantage. Grigolo — who is making his LAO debut with this role — exudes power with virtually every note; in fact, one wished for an occasional lighter touch just as a change of pace but that’s a very minor kvetch. Machaidze, who we’ve seen twice before with LAO, was more nuanced in her singing. However, she could match Grigolo note for note in volume and was even more smoldering than he was.
The other parts are far less fulfilling — blame Gounod. The most impressive last night were Vitalij Kowaljow (Wotan in LAO’s Ring) as a noble Friar Laurence and Renée Rapier, a University of Iowa grad who had a saucy, scene-stealing turn as Stephano. Rapier is part of the company’s Domingo-Thornton Young Artists Program, one of six current or former DTYAP members in the cast.
Ian Judge, who directed the original production in 2005, came back for the revival. Gunther’s set slid, turned and revolved enough to allow Gounod’s five acts to be played as just two (the evening clocked in at about 3:15). The fight choreography by Ed Douglas and the lighting design by Nigel Levings were particularly effective.
Domingo accompanied his singers sensitively, although his overall concept could have done with a bit more Gallic flare and nuance. James Conlon he isn’t but this was a solid performance and, frankly, nobody comes to this opera solely to hear the orchestra, which continues to be one of the company’s strong points. The LAO chorus sang strongly thoroughly the evening.
Ultimately, as noted earlier, this was another in a string of strong LAO productions over the past three seasons. As the company moves into its second quarter-century, that’s healthy sign and one that bodes well for the future.
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(c) Copyright 2011, Robert D. Thomas. All rights reserved. Portions may be quoted with attribution.
The name of bass Vitalij Kowaljow is hard to spell as it is, so please don't make it even more perplexing that it needs to be.
Posted by: MarK | November 13, 2011 at 05:18 PM
I tried; thanks for catching it.
Posted by: Bob Thomas | November 14, 2011 at 06:55 AM