Review: Grigolo's No Dime-Store ROMEO Opposite Damrau in Gounod's Opera at the Met

There's some famous and gorgeous music in Gounod's ROMEO ET JULIETTE--Juliet's waltz, Romeo's "Ah, leve-toi, soleil" and a number of duets--but this is definitely not one of those operas where the title characters can take turns with the showpieces but never look each other in the eye. Luckily, that wasn't the case with Diana Damrau and Vittorio Grigolo in the Met's new Bartlett Sher production, where they lit some fires at Tuesday's performance. The singers--who first paired in the Met's MANON last year--have turned into something of the resident 'dream team,' or about as close as the company gets these days.

Really, though, the evening went to Grigolo as Romeo, in a well-sung, dramatically vibrant performance. Despite his attractive voice, the singer can sometimes seem off in his own world--as if he were listening to the beautiful sounds he was making--and not connecting with his colleagues on stage. Not when he's with Damrau, though, who seems to bring him to a different level. His athletic take on the character brought out its boyishness without ever feeling forced or silly.

While Damrau is usually a favorite of mine, she seemed to be having an off night vocally for the first part of the evening, though she was never less than utterly charming dramatically. Improving as the evening went on, she gave a passionate rendition of the Poison aria, "Amour, ranime mon courage," worried that the potion she has taken to feign death will be convincing.

As for the production, under the baton of Gianandrea Noseda's propellant performance with the fine Met orchestra, it needed all it could get from star power, because it wasn't much to look at, or think about. It doesn't appear that Sher had any ideas for his take on the story--based pretty closely on Shakespeare--but it didn't stop him. His preferred scenic designer, Michael Yeargan, matched Sher's lack of enthusiasm with a drab take on Verona. Jennifer Tipton's lighting was utilitarian but it could have been more helpful in differentiating scene changes that were carved out of the unit set. Catherine Zuber's costumes were better, bringing some color to the proceedings.

Of the secondary characters, mezzo Virginie Verrez, with her gleaming voice, did a fine job with the pants role of Stephano, Romeo's page, particularly in her second act aria, "Qui fais tu." Diana Montague brought dignity to the role of Gertrude, Juliette's nurse as did Laurent Naouri as pere Capulet.

Speaking about the play that is the opera's source, the famed British diarist Samuel Pepys wrote, "it is...the worst that I ever heard in my life." While I wouldn't go that far in speaking of this production, I wonder what it will do without a pair of dynamos at its center. We'll see soon enough: Performances in March star Pretty Yende and Stephen Costello, who should be quite different as the star-crossed lovers.

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The January 21 performance of ROMEO ET JULIETTE will be transmitted worldwide as part of the 11th season of the Met's Live in HD series, which now reaches more than 2,000 movie theaters in 70 countries around the world.

Additional performances: January 17, 25, 28, March 3, 8, 11, 15, 18mat. Curtain times vary: complete schedule here. Running time: 2 hours and 56 minutes, one intermission.

Same-day $25 rush tickets for all performances of the opera are available on a first-come, first-served basis on the Met's web site. Tickets go on sale for performances Monday-Friday at noon, matinees four hours before curtain, and Saturday evenings at 2pm. For more information on rush tickets, click here. For regular ticket prices, more information, or to place an order, please call (212) 362-6000 or visit www.metopera.org. Special rates for groups of 10 or more are available by calling (212) 341-5410 or visiting www.metopera.org/groups.

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