Second performance of the current sold-out run of Gounod's "Roméo et Juliette" at the Salzburger Festspiele 2010, starring Anna Netrebko and Piotr Beczala in the title roles. The performance was conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin.
Piotr Beczala has cancelled his performance on 16. August due to a cold and he will be replaced by Stephen Costello.
Two further performances of Gounod's "Roméo et Juliette" at the Salzburger Festspiele 2010, with Anna Netrebko and Piotr Beczala in the title roles, are scheduled on 20. and 23. August 2010.
The updated cast for the full run of performances of Gounod's "Roméo et Juliette" at the Salzburger Festspiele 2010 is: Anna Netrebko (10., 13., 16., 20. and 23. August), Nino Machaidze (18., 24., 27. and 30. August), Piotr Beczala (10., 13., 20., 23., 27. and 30. August), Stephen Costello (16., 18. and 24. August), Mikhail Petrenko (10., 13., 16., 18., 20., 23. and 24. August), Dimitry Ivashchenko (27. and 30. August), Darren Jeffery, Russell Braun, Cora Burggraaf, Michael Spyres, Susanne Resmark, David Soar, Mathias Hausmann, Andrei Bondarenko, Adrian Strooper.
Charles Gounod • Roméo et Juliette
Opera in five acts
Text by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré after William Shakespeare's tragedy Romeo and Juliet
LEADING TEAM
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Conductor
Bartlett Sher, Stage Director
Michael Yeargan, Set Design
Catherine Zuber, Costume Design
Jennifer Tipton, Lighting
Chase Brock, Choreography
B. H. Barry, Battle scenes
Thomas Lang, Chorus Master
CAST
Anna Netrebko, Juliette
Piotr Beczala, Roméo
Mikhail Petrenko, Frère Laurent
Darren Jeffery, Le Comte Capulet
Russell Braun, Mercutio, friend of Roméo
Cora Burggraaf, Stéphano, page of Roméo
Michael Spyres, Tybalt, nephew of Capulet
Susanne Resmark, Gertrude, nurse of Juliet
David Soar, Le Duc de Vérone
Mathias Hausmann, Le Comte Paris
Andrei Bondarenko, Grégorio
Adrian Strooper, Benvolio, nephew of Montaigu
Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra
Concert Association of the Vienna State Opera Chorus
Reports
Anne-Laure attended live this performance and she kindly wrote the following report for the blog:
Unlike many critics that I read, I wasn’t really impressed by Nézet-Seguin’s conducting. He likes to put the orchestra on fire and draw huge and voluminous sound for dramatic points, but I thought it lacked some feelings and nuances or colors, which is a shame in this opera, where love must be in the first place, not action. Anyway there was life in this conducting and at the end it’s more than correct for me.
The entire cast was quite good and effective, even if the Felsenreitschule’s scene is very large and some of the voices were somehow lost in this huge hall. But no need to say that the real stars were the two leads, which is normal for this opera. They were clearly above the rest.
Beczala is a very good Romeo, especially when one knows that these were his debuts. But I don’t think that he’s a born Romeo. I have in my ears some of the greatest Romeo of the past and he just can’t fight with them. I was really impressed by his Vaudémont last year, but here I would say that it was “only” a first class performance, but not an extraordinary one. The high register was not so free and the voice seemed less bright than a year ago… well I learned that in fact he was ill and cancelled the next performance, so, that may be an explanation.
Nevertheless, it was an exciting performance. He was also incredible as an actor and very convincing. His Romeo is a little depressed, but young, handsome and the fight scene was really great.
Now for Netrebko, well… maybe I’m partial…
Well, let’s quickly go through “bad points” : she didn’t attempt the high D at Juliette’s entrance (which resulted in an odd result, as all the notes are clearly meant to lead to this one) and the trills were not really there.
OK. That was for the bad points. Now for the rest, I can’t imagine a better Juliette.
When she begins Juliette’s waltz it’s very clear from the first notes that we have here the hugest voice on stage. Round voice, secure, easy on top, big and rich creamy sound. Velvet for the ears. She may not be the most vocal agile Juliette (which I don’t really care, because Juliette is far from being only reduced to a coloratura waltz for me), but with the tempo given by the conductor, she managed easily the tricky things.
In the duets, she was fantastic, caring not to cover her partner and sounding great.
The highlight of the performance was the poison aria. Incredibly intense, powerful and sung with passion. The crowd went mad of course. A huge performance with a singer on top form.
She has also the musical intelligence and sensitivity to feel and understand what the music means (music is a language and a good musician has to understand it rather than only consider it like a succession of notes) and to use it for her interpretation and singing. That’s what makes the music alive and her singing/acting very interesting. Vocal charisma and clever interpretation : that’s what I want when I’m going to the opera and she has both.
By the way, she clearly worked on her French diction. She can still improve (and I guess some people will always criticize her for that now that their mind is made), but she should not fear to be compared with many French singers.
I was expecting a stellar performance so I feared to be disappointed… on the contrary, she was even better that I could have imagined. No need to say that the audience was ecstatic and granted a standing ovation with huge applauses for the singers.
After her glorious Manon in London, she proves again that this French lyric repertoire is fantastic for her. Her Marguerite should be amazing and I’m praying for an album of French arias to keep a testimony of her talent here. The poison aria MUST be recorded !!! It would be a crime otherwise.
What makes me really furious now is that those performances have not been recorded, especially since it’s Netrebko’s last Juliette. DGG should have wait 2 years before recording the DVD since there’s no doubt that this cast is far better than the previous (as much as I love Villazon, he was already in trouble there, and well, let’s say that Machaidze was OK but there is still a world between her and Netrebko). At least a radio or TV broadcast should have been scheduled. What a pity that there won’t be a trace of those fantastic performances ! Sometimes I wonder what runs in classical managers’ mind (especially when I see that some cd or dvd of really poor artistic quality are published when great performances are kept in the dark).
Press Reviews
The October issue of the german opera magazine "Das Opernglas" brings a superb review of Gounod's "Roméo et Juliette" performance in Salzburg on 13. Aug 2010 written by S. Barnstorf. Here there is an excerpt of the review, google-translated and edited by Herbert:
"Netrebko-Mania", "Netrebko-Show", "Netrebko-Hype"- which additives have not yet been tagged to Anna Netrebko’s name? After her debut as Juliette at the Salzburg Festival in 2010 – which actually should have happened already in 2008 – it can once again been stated: She meets all the high demands and requirements from all sides in every respect. Her voice is not only unique but also matured.
She no longer embodies a simple-minded, innocent and solely merry creature, as Juliette has to be at the beginning of this production of Charles Gounod’s “Roméo et Juliette”. Although cheerfully jumping around in a colorful robe, she thereby exposes Bartlett Sher’s traditional production in its simplicity. “Ah! – je veux vivre” is also about the short duration of love, the fading scent of roses and other kinds of highly romantic melancholy.
With this first aria Netrebko already places a highlight in the Felsenreitschule. Warm, dark timbre with a wide range of different vocal shades as well as infinitely supple brilliance in the heights characterizes her voice during the whole performance. But in the aria of the first act she switches perfectly between powerful high expression and precisely differentiated emphasis of each word of the runs in the waltz aria – refining each articulated tone almost by a mysteriously colorful aura. (...) During the romantic homage Netrebko contrives to sing every pitch effortlessly, while still giving the feeling to be able to add something more at any time. This is particularly evident in the fourth act (“Dieu! quel frisson court dans mes veines!”), where she intones by her voice Juliette’s inevitability, fear and certainty so captivating that the public is encouraged to Bravi for the first time during the performance.
Press Reviews Links
Blog Reviews Links
Photos
Roméo et Juliette, Salzburger Festspiele 2010, Anna Netrebko (Juliette), Piotr Beczala (Roméo). Photo: © Hermann, Clärchen & Matthias Baus
Roméo et Juliette, Salzburger Festspiele 2010, Anna Netrebko (Juliette). Photo: © Hermann, Clärchen & Matthias Baus
Roméo et Juliette, Salzburger Festspiele 2010, Darren Jeffrey (Le Comte Capulet). Photo: © Hermann, Clärchen & Matthias Baus
Roméo et Juliette, Salzburger Festspiele 2010, Anna Netrebko (Juliette). Photo: © Hermann, Clärchen & Matthias Baus
Roméo et Juliette, Salzburger Festspiele 2010, Piotr Beczala (Roméo). Photo: © Hermann, Clärchen & Matthias Baus
Roméo et Juliette, Salzburger Festspiele 2010, Anna Netrebko (Juliette), Piotr Beczala (Roméo). Photo: © Hermann, Clärchen & Matthias Baus
Roméo et Juliette, Salzburger Festspiele 2010, Anna Netrebko (Juliette), Piotr Beczala (Roméo). Photo: © Hermann, Clärchen & Matthias Baus
Roméo et Juliette, Salzburger Festspiele 2010, Piotr Beczala (Roméo), Robert Murray (Benvolio), Russell Braun (Mercutio), Cora Burggraaf (Page of Roméo). Photo: © Hermann, Clärchen & Matthias Baus
Roméo et Juliette, Salzburger Festspiele 2010, Anna Netrebko (Juliette), Piotr Beczala (Roméo). Photo: © Hermann, Clärchen & Matthias Baus
Roméo et Juliette, Salzburger Festspiele 2010, Anna Netrebko (Juliette), Piotr Beczala (Roméo). Photo: © Hermann, Clärchen & Matthias Baus
Roméo et Juliette, Salzburger Festspiele 2010, Anna Netrebko (Juliette), Piotr Beczala (Roméo). Photo: © Hermann, Clärchen & Matthias Baus
Felsenreitschule, Roméo et Juliette, Salzburger Festspiele 2010, Felsenreitschule, Salzburg 13. August 2010. Photo: Anne-Laure
Anna Netrebko (Juliette), Piotr Beczala (Roméo), Roméo et Juliette, Salzburger Festspiele 2010, Felsenreitschule, Salzburg 13. August 2010. Photo: Anne-Laure
Anna Netrebko (Juliette), Piotr Beczala (Roméo), Roméo et Juliette, Salzburger Festspiele 2010, Felsenreitschule, Salzburg 13. August 2010. Photo: Anne-Laure
Anna Netrebko (Juliette), Piotr Beczala (Roméo), Yannick Nézet-Séguin (Conductor), Roméo et Juliette, Salzburger Festspiele 2010, Felsenreitschule, Salzburg 13. August 2010. Photo: Anne-Laure
Anna Netrebko (Juliette), Yannick Nézet-Séguin (Conductor), Roméo et Juliette, Salzburger Festspiele 2010, Felsenreitschule, Salzburg 13. August 2010. Photo: Anne-Laure
Anna Netrebko at the stage door, Roméo et Juliette, Salzburger Festspiele 2010, Felsenreitschule, Salzburg 13. August 2010. Photo: Anne-Laure
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