ROMÉO ET JULIETTE

The five-act production - sung in French with English surtitles - opens on a splendid masked ball taking place at the Capulet palace in Verona, Italy. Early on, opera-goers are made aware of the hostility that reigns supreme between the powerful Montague (Romeo) and Capulet (Juliet) families. For this reason, upon their first meeting, Romeo and Juliet should follow suit, but love conquers all, or it seems for the moment.

As the opera progresses, Romeo and Juliet have professed their mutual love during the famous balcony scene overlooking the Capulet's garden. Soon, Friar Laurence, believing a marriage would bring reconciliation to the feuding families, unites the young lovers in holy wedlock.

But, in the closing acts, things do not go as planned and misunderstandings between Romeo and Juliet lead to deadly actions resulting in dire consequences.

The original opera "Roméo et Juliette" - based on Shakespeare's tragic tale of star-crossed lovers and set to music by renown French composer Charles Gounod (1818-1893) with collaborating librettists Jules Barbier and Michel Carré - premiered in Paris in 1867 and was performed by the Théậtre Lyrique Opera Company.

" 'Romeo and Juliet' is an opera I have loved for over 40 years," said Ronald Gretz, the company's artistic director. "This is the first time the Annapolis Opera is producing it and the first time I have ever conducted it. We have assembled a terrific cast of incredibly talented singers with whom I feel privileged to work, and we have 32 musicians from the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra playing for both performances."

Friday, May 18 & Sunday, May 20 2012
Annapolis Opera
801 Chase St, Annapolis, MD 21401