The first night | "Romeo and Juliet" made a shocking debut, a minimalist modern aesthetic interpretation of the classic National Centre for the Performing Arts Opera Festival • 2018 National Centre for the Performing Arts newly produced Charles Gouno opera "Romeo and Juliet"

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On the evening of July 18, the National Centre for the Performing Arts Opera Festival 's 2018 blockbuster drama "Romeo and Juliet" was successfully premiered. Opera all-round director Stefano Podda made the audience shine with a shocking stage presentation, touching and profound plot, delicate and tender music and the artist's full dedication, and the new production of charles Gounod's opera "Romeo and Juliet" at the National Centre for the Performing Arts led the audience to enjoy a shocking opera night.

Composer Charles Goono

Composer Charles Gounod, an important figure in the revitalization of French opera in the second half of the 19th century, composed music that is often hailed as "a healing medicine for the soul". First performed in 1867, Romeo and Juliet not only consolidated Gounod's position in opera creation, allowing Gounod's reputation to reach its peak, but also brought fresh blood to French opera and opened a new model of "lyrical opera".

In the opera, Gounod gave a large number of arias and repetitions to the two protagonists, and gave the overall melancholy and darkness to the orchestra. The layered music arrangement, the perfect integration of drama and melody, make "Romeo and Juliet" once staged has become a classic of the world's major opera houses. Coinciding with the 200th anniversary of Gouno's birth, the National Centre for the Performing Arts chose to present the opera "Romeo and Juliet" from a stage perspective full of modern aesthetics, which not only once again demonstrated the confidence and strength of the opera production of the National Centre for the Performing Arts, but also paid tribute to the composers with full sincerity.

Prologue scene from Romeo and Juliet

Patrick Fournier conducts the National Centre for the Performing Arts Orchestra

On the night of the premiere, Patrick Fournier, the leader of the French opera, led the National Centre for the Performing Arts Orchestra, showing the audience the unique charm of "lyric opera" with excellent performance level. With a solemn prelude, the curtain slowly opens, and the Capulette family in red robes tells the story of "Roju" with a chorus. The Sky City Hall symbolizes the power field of the two feuding families for power and profit, the pure white stage space, the stage installation with a strong sense of depth and three-dimensional sense, and the director gives the audience a strong visual impact with a pure and minimalist stage. As the director puts it: "The arc is inspired by the appearance of the National Centre for the Performing Arts, forming a channel of soul and memory from near to far. All the stage elements exist in a 'circular' way, which will be an eternal and cyclical journey. ”

Stills from the first act of Romeo and Juliet

At the beginning of the first act, the spiral staircase standing in the middle of the stage quickly caught the attention of the audience, and at this grand banquet, Juliet accompanied by a cheerful and beautiful round dance, sang the girl's desire for true love with a gorgeous flower cavity. Subsequently, the two protagonists fell in love at first sight, and with the rapid heating up of feelings, a separate hemisphere representing the feud between the two families appeared on the stage, and the "Juliet Balcony" hanging in the air.

Stills from the second act of Romeo and Juliet

In the second act, Juliet's dreamy monologue, Romeo's heartfelt praise, and large duets reveal the protagonist's intoxicated obsession after falling in love.

Stills from the third act of Romeo and Juliet

In the church scene in the third act, the director uses the strong lighting in the back area to highlight the background light effect of the holy cross, and the church resounds with the vows of the two protagonists, and the sphere that merges into one symbolizes the union of the two.

Stills from the fourth act of Romeo and Juliet

In the fourth act, the exiled Romeo and Juliet say goodbye in pain, and the lingering and anxious duet combines the grief and love of their wedding night. In the face of the family's marriage contract, Juliet sang the most outstanding female aria composed by Gounor, creating a heart-wrenching dramatic atmosphere with the lyrics of the straight chest.

Stills from the fifth act of Romeo and Juliet

In the last scene, Gounod does not emphasize the reconciliation of the family, but interprets the life and death between lovers in a very touching way, while the director cleverly brings the two spheres together to represent the reconciliation of family grievances.

Romeo and Juliet is a costume that is unique and blends Eastern and Western elements

Throughout the opera, in addition to the director's exploration of the stage space, the design of the costumes also has a unique meaning. Each costume represents the protagonist's experience and story, and the design of the costume does not belong to a specific period, which is both a microcosm of Western history and culture and a combination of oriental classic elements. In the director's production concept, abandoning the rules and regulations, truly exploring the meaning of the story itself, so as to pursue the inner truth, is the meaning of this opera production. On the minimalist stage, the director uses blank space to give the audience full imagination and thinking space, without specific eras and any dimension of the limit, trying to let the audience explore their own hearts, to find their own memories.

Melissa Porty (left) as Juliet

Francisco de Mulo (right) plays Romeo

It is worth mentioning that the wonderful singing of the artists also became a highlight of the premiere night. Melissa Porty, who plays Juliet, captured the hearts of a large number of audiences with her sweet image, and many of the most difficult arias in the play won unanimous praise from the audience. Another highlight of the performance lineup is undoubtedly the tenor who plays Romeo, Francisco de Mulo, who has appeared on the world-class opera stage many times, and not only won the warm applause of the audience with his extremely difficult high-pitched singing that night, but also showed the elegant temperament of the noble prince with his hands and feet. At the same time, the Choir of the National Centre for the Performing Arts also impressed the audience with its calm and atmospheric singing, adding a lot to the perfect presentation of the premiere.

The audience closed the curtain amid enthusiastic applause from the audience

The performance of the opera "Romeo and Juliet" produced by the National Centre for the Performing Arts will last until July 22, and in the next performance, internationally renowned singing artists such as Mihaela Marku and Yu Yongzhao will take the stage to continue to bring wonderful performances to the audience with a strong performance lineup.

Wang Xiaojing, Ling Feng, and Niu Xiaobei | photography

Gong Yuqi | copy

Gao Jian | edit

Performance time: 2018.07.18-07.22 19:00

Venue: National Centre for the Performing Arts Opera House

Conductor: Director Patrick Fournier, Stage Design, Costume Design, Lighting Design, Choreography: Stefano Podda

Theatre Director: Paul Jani Chey

Choral Conductor: Salvatore Caputo

Starring:

Juliet (soprano): Melissa Porti/Mihaela Marku

Romeo (tenor): Francisco de Mulo/Yu Yongzhao

Count Caplet (bass): Luca Glass/Major

Lawrence Friar (bass): Brac Bill Gilly/Zhang Wenwei

McCusius (baritone): Alessandro Longo/Zhang Yang

Stefano (mezzo-soprano): Jugeta Adamonite/Zhang Yuan

Promotion (tenor): Yuan Lu/Wang Xin

Gerud (mezzo-soprano): Duan Nina

Earl of Paris (baritone): Huang Yanming

Duke of Verona (bass): Wang Meng

Ge Geliu (baritone): Zhao Denghui

Benvolio (tenor): Guo Jianchao

Choir of the National Centre for the Performing Arts

National Centre for the Performing Arts Orchestra

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