Review: Teatro Nuovo Brings Bellini's CAPULETI-MONTECCHI to New York's Rose Theatre

If you want to see an opera based on Shakespeare’s “Romeo & Juliet,” head for Gounod’s version of the piece. with its famous waltz and series of duets. Bellini’s I CAPULETI E I MONTECCHI is not it.

The story of the star-crossed lovers was a popular one in Italy and was the subject of a good number of operas that had nothing to do with Shakespeare’s version.  But it was Bellini’s opera, from 1830, that Will Crutchfield’s Teatro Nuovo company, specialists in all things bel canto, brought to Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Theatre and Montclair State’s Kasser Theatre this past week.

With some splendid music—and some issues with its libretto by Felice Romani, which was a retread of his libretto from another R&J opera, GIULIETTA E ROMEO by Vaccai, written only five years earlier--CAPULETTI-MONTECCHI hasn’t been seen much in New York, though it’s been more frequently performed elsewhere.

We owe thanks to Crutchfield for bringing it back even though the opera was a cut-and-paste job in both words and music, because of the short schedule in Venice for development of the piece—about six weeks from delivery of the libretto!--and Bellini’s slow writing pace. (According to the program notes, it nonetheless gave some food for thought to Wagner in writing TRISTAN UND ISOLDE.) But even recycled Bellini, from his first opera, ZAIRA, is worth listening to!

Directed by Marco Nistico, the production’s staging was quite modest, although Adam Thompson’s projections based on the scenic designs of Francesco Sanquirico for La Scala were appealing and the lighting by Devon Allen and Jason Flamos worked well.

The opera has an exhilarating overture, played energetically by the company’s orchestra with Jakob Lehmann as concert master and conductor and Crutchfield on the cembalo (i.e., harpsichord), but then takes a while to get going, slowed down by the first act’s plethora of exposition.

Then Giulietta makes her entrance in the second scene, and all is forgiven, particularly in the very capable hands of lyric coloratura Alina Tamborini. The recitative and romanza “Eccomi in lieta vesta…Oh quante volte ti chiedo” offer everything we expect musically from Bellini, particularly from the big, flexible voice of Tamborini, who was the find of the evening. 

She sounded fresh and lovely, whether she was singing solo, as in "Ah! Non poss'io partire" or in duet (e.g., “Si, fuggire: a noi non resta”) with the Romeo, a pants role, of mezzo Stephanie Doche, she was wonderful. Mezzo Doche took some time to warm up but otherwise did a fine job as Romeo.

Of the secondary roles, baritone Kyle Oliver stood out as Lorenzo, the physician who gave the sleeping potion to Giulietta. The cast of characters is shorter than in the Shakespeare version of the story: Tebaldo (tenor Robert Kleinertz) and Capellio (bass baritone Michael Leyte-Vidal) were about it. The chorus (retainers and soldiers), under chorus master Derrick Goff, did well.

Having heard the other of this year’s operas from Teatro Nuovo, Uccelli’s ANNA DI RESBURGO, an unknown but worthy piece in most aspects, I was surprised at the somewhat lackluster performance of CAPULETI-MONTECCHI, which has a much higher profile.

Caption: Alina Tamborini (Giulietta), Stephanie Doche (Romeo)

Credit: Steven Pisano

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