Review: Calgary Opera's Romeo et Juliette dazzles

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For its opening production of the new season, Calgary Opera is presenting the second-most-famous of Charles Gounod’s operas: Romeo et Juliette. The most famous opera is, of course, Faust, which at one point was the most-performed opera in the world.

But the lustre of Faust has faded somewhat, and more recently it is Romeo et Juliette that has been the Gounod opera of choice. In the past quarter century, there have been major productions in France and at London’s Covent Garden, but also at the Metropolitan Opera in New York and in Montreal. To a certain extent, the production currently playing at the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium is a transplant of the recent Montreal version, with some singers common to both productions.

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Review: Calgary Opera's Romeo et Juliette dazzles Back to video

The sets and costumes by Claude Girard are those used in productions all over North America in the past 20 years, including (if memory serves) the previous Calgary production in 2003. What is new — strikingly so — is the stage direction by Jean Grand-Maitre, which restores at least some of the ballet sequences that were part of the production when the opera was “upgraded” and entered the repertoire of the Paris Opera. The liveliness of the stage action together with the fighting and ballet sequences give this production a zip this opera sometimes lacks.

As a point of departure, the production strives to recapture the style and manner of the 19th-century French performances of the opera. While it is customary in the English-speaking world to think of Romeo and Juliet as a serious Shakespearean tragedy, in its transformation into French lyric opera the focus is largely upon the emotions of the two young lovers. The opera is sometimes described as consisting of four love duets and a waltz song — a bit harsh, perhaps, but with a grain of truth.

The dramatic bits, mostly involving the conflict between the two families — the duel sequences and the grief at the deaths of Tybalt, Mercutio and (seemingly) Juliet — are presented in strongly etched choral scenes. But these elements take a back seat to expressions of love, largely through the four love duets that form the core of the musical score.

For modernists, Gounod’s music score can sound very old-fashioned and heavily laced with (older) Catholic overtones. Indeed, Gounod lived long enough to see his two most famous works — Faust and Romeo et Juliette — become symbols of an increasingly outmoded past and to witness himself as a living fossil. Gounod’s sweet, melodious style sounded to audiences, even in his lifetime, as having a high sugar content (musically speaking) and lacking the fibre and excitement needed for the realistic presentation of conflict on the stage.

But times and tastes change, and once again it is the portrayal of intimacy that is of contemporary interest, and the music of Gounod, while hardly the stuff of Game of Thrones or Star Wars, offers a welcome antidote to the harshness of many elements in modern life.

French opera has always done well in Calgary, and so it was on opening night. The performance and the performers were roundly cheered, with special praise for conductor Gordon Gerrard, the orchestra and the chorus, as well as director and choreographer Grand-Maitre. And, as is often the case, the audience was right: these were the best elements in the performance.

The principal roles were given to two young Canadian singers, Adam Luther and Anne-Marie Macintosh. Luther has recently made the transition from a comprimario tenor to a lead tenor, and he now regularly sings the big lyric roles in Italian and French opera. Singing with a strong, technically secure voice, he gave a fine account of the part, his physical bearing very much suited to his lead role. Not the most subtle of singers, he tended to rely on a single mode of singing, somewhat regardless of the music at hand. But over the course of the evening, his singing steadily improved, and he was exceptionally fine in the last part of the opera in the all-important scene in the crypt. This is a difficult role for any tenor, and one would have to search widely to find a Romeo significantly better than what was heard here.

Anne-Marie Macintosh is a younger singer, and this is, for all practical purpose, her first major outing after being remarkably successful locally in smaller parts. Her voice is certainly the right type for the role: high, fundamentally lyrical, and with a noticeable brilliance in the top register. Her flitting around the stage projected the elements that Juliet needs to show, and vocally she managed the famous waltz aria in the first act with French charm.

For my taste, she didn’t need to push quite as hard as she sometimes did, with the result that there was sometimes an intrusive vibrato/tremolo that entered her singing, especially in the big moments. Her natural vocal weight and clarity of tone make her perfectly equal to the role, and she could ease up a trifle in the louder passages. But, in all, this was a highly commendable performance, her portrayal of Juliet girlish and graceful, but also containing inner fire.

The opera has a large cast and it is not possible to mention everyone individually here. But mention must be made of the eloquent singing of the two basses, Alain Coulombe as Friar Laurence and Ewe Dambruch as the Duke of Verona. Both have attractive voices of authority and heft. Friar Lawrence is a somewhat complicated character to play, having both a priestly and a partially comic element, both of which he handled very well indeed. Dambruch had all the needed presence, vocally and dramatically, for the cameo role of the Duke.

Peter Barrett as Mercutio sang a very fine Queen Mab aria in the first act and was generally strong throughout, as was Alexandre Sylvestre, whose invitation aria was impressive. Jan Van der Hooft as Tybalt was suitably fiery, as the role demands, even though vocally the part needs a tenor with a naturally bigger voice. Stephanie Tritchew as Stephano brought all the necessary playful comedy and vocal elan needed for her solo, a memorable spot in the production.

The chorus has much to do in this opera, and the big lamenting scenes and the complexity of the opening ball scene were well handled both vocally and as part of the integrated dramatic action. Gerrard showed his affinity for this opera, capturing the character of the individual numbers tastefully and with refinement. The complex transitions within the scenes were handled with smoothness and good musical judgment.

The ballet element is new in this production, and given the tastefulness with which it was introduced, it contributed substantially to the distinctive feel of the production. But it must be said that one needs a very French approach to the understanding of opera to find it credible that after Juliet has drunk her vial of Friar Laurence’s potion that there should be a dance. Evidently, the dance was there to represent her complex thoughts on the threshold of entering upon her deep sleep. Considered that way, and given the excellence of the dancing itself, this addition was understandable. There was another ballet sequence in the first act, as well.

This is a strong production, with good — if not exceptional — singing, a production that will entertain anyone drawn to an operatic telling of Shakespeare’s timeless tale.