While Charles Gounod's "Roméo et Juliette" is less well-known than his
"Faust," it is blessed with four great show-stopping love duets that let
its two title roles bask in lyrical luxury. In this Salzburg Festival
production recorded at the Felsenreitschule, the titular heroes are the
much acclaimed Mexican tenor Rolando Villazón and the young Georgian
soprano Nino Machaidze - two singers and personalities with the makings of
a new "dream couple."
Villazón is "an ideal Roméo... His vocal cords seem to be grafted directly
onto his heart" (Der Tagesspiegel) - a charming image that captures the
singer's one-hundred-percent commitment to emotion, his hot-blooded stage
artistry, and his ability to express erotic fulfillment, the blaze of
passion, and the hopelessness of his fate with his voice alone. His
Juliette, Nino Machaidze, unites captivating good looks with a bright,
clear voice and an agile, youthful stage presence - a singer on her way to
stardom!
Broadway director Bartlett Sher and his team succeed in evoking
Shakespeare's Verona with a few evocative props, many fine costumes and
much plot-driven action. In the eyes of many, however, the real discovery
of the production is the young Montreal conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin,
who gives a vivid and passionate reading of Gounod's work. In the words of
the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Nézet-Séguin "plunges so earnestly
into the specific charm of the score that he brings all of its treasures
to light... With the [Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg], playing with a
marvelous wealth of nuances, he intones a hymn to a sensuality that
reconciles religious, aesthetic and erotic moments..." This vibrant
interpretation of "Roméo et Juliette" makes a case for this intensely
lyrical work as a companion piece of equal value to "Faust."
This program is also released as Blu-ray Disc which is available in selected stores worldwide and through Amazon or JPC.