Romeo and Juliet
Charles Gounod
Romeo and Juliet is a romantic French opera full of powerful emotions and music awash with love.
While Faust may be Gounod’s best-known work, Romeo and Juliet is his most cherished. It’s easy to see why. The music moves towards its climax duet by duet, developing the young lovers’ relationship towards its inevitable conclusion.
Award-winning director Amy Lane, the Artistic Director of the Copenhagen Opera Festival, has set the events in late 19th century New York, in the dimly lit streets where the Capulets and Montagues fight over supremacy. The constant sense of danger builds fascinating tension against the voluminous music.
Je t’aime!
I love you!
Two couples alternate in the lead roles. The superstar Lisette Oropesa has Frédéric Antoun as her Romeo, and Marjukka Tepponen, who recently debuted at the Metropolitan Opera, sings with Antonio Poli. Nor does the brilliance end there – Lisette Oropesa also sings in a recital concert in Olavinlinna on 9 July. Read more here
The opera is a Malmö Opera production, which premiered in Sweden in November 2022.