Review: San Diego Opera's Creative and Effective ROMEO AND JULIET

Gounod's overture introduces ROMEO AND JULIET with a prophetic mix of lyrical romance and tragedy. Yves Abel, the Principal Conductor of the San Diego Opera, is an expert in French opera and made sure that resonant brass and lush strings produced the mood a Parisian composer of Gounod's time would have favored.

The quick pace was especially important in a five-act opera some productions turn into a turgid ordeal. No chance of that with Abel leading the San Diego Symphony.

Staging was creative and equally effective. A huge vibrant red rose hung from the fly loft, and as the curtain rose, five smaller, similarly beautiful roses joined their botanical sibling while all receded toward the back of the stage and paled to a grayish white.

Romantic indeed, but one soon noticed the background included geometrically spaced black swords pointing straight down, suggesting violence was an equally important plot element. Nor was that violence in a distant future. The first scene opens with the company's capable chorus singling forebodingly of the bitter feud between the Montagues and Capulets while creating motion and angst on the stage.

The black swords were just one of many effective elements in the Minnesota Opera staging chosen by director Matthew Ozawa. Set designer William Boles, costume designer Sarah Bahr

and lighting designer Paul Whitaker worked together to produce richly captivating settings.

It was fortunate that the story is familiar because, even though there were few props, I sometimes couldn't take my eyes off the stage for supertitles. Apart from elaborate imposing costumes, it was all done with a nod to modern geometric art and ingenious lighting effects.

Did all this detract from the singers? No. Tenor Pene Pati hit Romeo's famous high C at the end of Act 3 with determined power and seemed likely able to hold it through act four had

the plot called for it. Perhaps even more surprising was his ability to sing buttery whispers that could be heard at the back of the hall. And though a bit older than young Romeo, he brought a convincing youthful charisma to the role, not to mention passable dueling moves.

The smooth, rich voice of Nicole Cabell's Juliette blended well with Pati's, making it easy to believe in their love. Their duets were consistent highlights. Juliet's waltzing "I want to live" is probably the opera's best-known aria, and Cabell's soaring lighthearted coloratura showed why.

Once again, thanks to the company's emphasis on vocal quality, there were no weak links . Supporting singers included tenor Adrian Kramer as Juliette's cousin Tybalt. He sang with such convincing hatred that Pati came out of the line at the final curtain and playfully pretended to hammer Kramer's chest in anger. Mezzo-soprano Sarah Coit received an enthusiastic round of applause for her youthful "pants" role as Romeo's page Stephano. Baritone Hadleigh was, until run through by the blade of Tybalt, a confident likeable Mercutio, and bass-baritone Ted Pickell commanded convincingly as the Duke of Verona.

I doubt any other teenage couple has died more often or more tragically than Romeo and Juliet. And how many subsequent fictional lovers have been led to a similar fate while enmeshed in Shakespeare's plot. Take poor Tony and Maria in West Side Story, although, spoiler alert, only Tony dies in the end. In possibly the most creative version, the animated feature Gnomeo & Juliet (2011), being family friendly, allows both cute little star-crossed garden gnomes to survive a quarrel between their respective owners.

Alas, Charles Gounod and the librettist team of Jules Barbier and Michael Carré follow Shakespeare without major variations but do allow the famous couple a last duet just before the curtain falls. And when sung as well as it was in the San Diego Opera's latest production, you can believe that they are still together in the afterlife of your choice.

This production of Romeo and Juliet sees its final performance in a Sunday matinee on Sunday, April 3rd. The San Diego Opera's west-coast premiere of Aging Musician with music by Paola Prestini and libretto by Rinde Eckert, concludes this season. Visit the San Diego Opera's website www.sdopera.org for ticket and time information.

And keep an eye out for the impending announcement of next season's schedule. It includes a world premiere, a much-loved favorite and more.

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