Jun 09 2007
Star-crossed lovers
I just saw the Michigan Opera Theater’s production of Charles Gounod’s Romeo and Juliet. Jonathan Boyd and Evelyn Pollock were both excellent in the title roles. Boyd has a nice, clear, powerful tenor voice. Pollock had no problem navigating the coloratura bits in her part.
This is a long opera - 3 hours 30 minutes or so - but Gounod’s music is so gorgeous it (almost) doesn’t matter. although near the end I was muttering “die already”. The sets were spare but rich. I thought the MOT’s staging was rather static - a lot of people standing in place singing. The fight sequences were pretty good, though.
I don’t know if the original French dialog was as stilted as it seemed in English, or if the surtitles were badly translated, but at times you just wanted to laugh. For example, after Tybalt killed Mercutio, Romeo swears vengeance saying “Let my flaming fury be the only law ruling my actions.” Yeesh.
But these are minor complaints. Overall, it was a good show.
Update 6/10/07:
A friend emails:
Tom:
To keep in mind during [the] performance:
1. Three little words: Self-induced vomiting
2. A la Monty Python: I’m not dead yet!
I defy you to watch the final scene without thinking of these two things!
Enjoy.