Gounod's Roméo et Juliette

[tomseeley]

Which ones?

[The new erato]

There a number of hostorical recordings + these three of relatively recent provenance:

GOUNOD Romeo et Juliette. Roberto Alagna, Angela Gheorghiu, Jose van Dam, Simon Keenlyside, Marie-Ange Todorovitch, Alain Fondary, Choeur et Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse / Michel Plasson. EMI 3cds

GOUNOD Romeo et Juliette Franco Corelli, Mirella Freni, Orchestre & Choerus du Theatre, National de l'Opera de Paris / Alain Lombard EMI 2cds

GOUNOD Romeo and Juliet. Alfredo Kraus, Mirella Freni, Sesto Bruscantini, Patrick Raftery, Judith Serra, George Meadows, Sarah Dixon, Chicago Opera Orchestra & Chorus / Robin Stapleton. Live performance rec. 1982. Gala 2cds

Haven't heard any of them......

[Tsaraslondon]

Avoid Corelli at all costs - totally unstylish and his French is execrable.

I used to own the first Plasson recording with Kraus and Malfitano, which is very good, but it can't be denied that Kraus hardly sounds like a man in the first flush of youth, however stylishly he sings. Fortunately, Alagna, singing in his native language, is at his very finest, and, though Gheorghiu sounds a trifle mature in the first scenes, she nonetheless gives a wonderful performance, rising superbly to the challenge of her Act IV aria. It is absolutely note complete as well, right down to the inclusion of the ballet music, so no contest really.

Early in his career, Alagna debuted in the role at Covent Garden, singing opposite the delightfully girlish Juliette of Leontina Vaduva, and this performance is captured on DVD. It is well worth seeking out. I saw one of the series of performances at which it was recorded, and it remains one of my most memorable evenings in the opera house, Alagna giving us some of the best tenor singing of my entire opera going career. What a shame that that initial promise was not entirely fulfilled.

[marvinbrown]

  Sadly after purchasing Gounod's Faust I was not BLOWN AWAY  and had no interest in pursuing his other opera compositions. Am I missing something here?

  marvin

[PerfectWagnerite]

  Sadly after purchasing Gounod's Faust I was not BLOWN AWAY  and had no interest in pursuing his other opera compositions. Am I missing something here?

  marvin

No you are not. Gounod stinks. I cannot stand Romeo and Juliette or Faust, so that makes the two of us.

[Lilas Pastia]

It's an excellent opera, but recordings are all mixed bags. This is one that should be heard in an all-French cast. Foreign accents and alien vocal singing styles pretty much destroy it. Contrary to my esteemed coposter Tsaraslondon I find corelli's over-the-top emoting perversely fascinating. His passionate declamation  at "qu'elle est belle" (Ah, lève-toi, Soleil!) is the real thing. All others sound only mildly aroused at the vision of Juliette at the ball. His solar plexus punch of a diminuendo at the end of the aria is jaw-droppingly vulgar but make all others sound strained and perfunctory in comparison.

If the old Alain Vanzo version would become available, it would be worth seeking. Nobody sings Romeo with Vanzo's impeccable legato and stylishness.

And this one is definitely a classic:

[Tsaraslondon]

It's an excellent opera, but recordings are all mixed bags. This is one that should be heard in an all-French cast. Foreign accents and alien vocal singing styles pretty much destroy it. Contrary to my esteemed coposter Tsaraslondon I find corelli's over-the-top emoting perversely fascinating. His passionate declamation  at "qu'elle est belle" (Ah, lève-toi, Soleil!) is the real thing. All others sound only mildly aroused at the vision of Juliette at the ball. His solar plexus punch of a diminuendo at the end of the aria is jaw-droppingly vulgar but make all others sound strained and perfunctory in comparison.

If the old Alain Vanzo version would become available, it would be worth seeking. Nobody sings Romeo with Vanzo's impeccable legato and stylishness.

And this one is definitely a classic:

I haven't heard that Vanzo performance, but would very much like to. It certainly looks very tempting, and Alain Vanzo has always been a favourite of mine, especially in French music, though I also have a live recording of him singing a wonderfully stylish Gennaro to Caballe's Lucerezia Borgia.

As for Corelli, well we all respond to voices and styles in different ways. Notwithstanding his evident vocal splendour, I often find his singing hard to take. All that sliding around, with sobs and aspirates breaking up  the musical line, might just be ok in Italian verismo, (though personally I would still prefer a Domingo, a Pavarotti or a Bergonzi),but seems to me hopelessly out of place in French opera. Oddly enough, perhaps because of the respect he had for both Serafin and Callas, he is on his best behaviour in the Norma he recorded with them, though even here Serafin makes a few additional minor cuts to accommodate his lack of a florid technique.

Incidentally, apart from Gheorghiu and the excellent Simon Keenlyside, Plasson's second recording also benefits from a totally French speaking cast, orchestra and conductor. I would still rate it higher than all the other sets, though I am prepared to believe I will relegate it to second place, if I ever manage to hear the Vanzo recording.

[Hector]

  Sadly after purchasing Gounod's Faust I was not BLOWN AWAY  and had no interest in pursuing his other opera compositions. Am I missing something here?

  marvin

Yep, you certainly are.

My advice is to either persevere or put them away for a bit and try again later.

The British public have a strong affection for 'Faust' and it always puts bums on seats whenever and wherever it is staged.

'Romeo et Juliette' is generally considered to be Gounod's greatest work for the stage

[marvinbrown]

'Romeo et Juliette' is generally considered to be Gounod's greatest work for the stage

  Do you find that it is a "more accomplished" work musically than Faust??  I like operas that are musically quite heavy and I found Faust lacking in "quality" when compared th Verdi's operas and Bizet's Carmen, but that's just my opinion of course  .

  marvin 

[Lilas Pastia]

Although both works have all the trappings of conventional Grand Opera, Romeo is less diffuse, with a lot of incidents packed in about 30 minutes' less duration. Berlioz made a much better case for the Goethe dramatic poem (well, part of it), whereas in Romeo his dramatic instincts were sharper and his melodic facility put to bettter use. A disc of extracts is all I need from Faust, 9 times out of 10,

[Tsaraslondon]

  Do you find that it is a "more accomplished" work musically than Faust??  I like operas that are musically quite heavy and I found Faust lacking in "quality" when compared th Verdi's operas and Bizet's Carmen, but that's just my opinion of course  .

  marvin 

I have a soft spot for Faust. It does have some glorious music, but as LP points out, it is a little diffuse. The Germans never could accept it as true representation of Goethe, and used to refer to it by the name of its heroine Margarethe. I don't think it ever achieves the same level of genius as Berlioz does in La Damnation de Faust, but it can be very effective in performance. That said, Romeo et Juliette is probably musically more accomplished, though it never quite found the popularity, here in the UK and in the States, as Faust. Maybe that is because we had more trouble accepting it as a true representation of Shakespeare.

[marvinbrown]

I have a soft spot for Faust. It does have some glorious music, but as LP points out, it is a little diffuse. The Germans never could accept it as true representation of Goethe, and used to refer to it by the name of its heroine Margarethe. I don't think it ever achieves the same level of genius as Berlioz does in La Damnation de Faust, but it can be very effective in performance. That said, Romeo et Juliette is probably musically more accomplished, though it never quite found the popularity, here in the UK and in the States, as Faust. Maybe that is because we had more trouble accepting it as a true representation of Shakespeare.

  Perhaps this opera is worth exploring after all.

  marvin

[head-case]

  Perhaps this opera is worth exploring after all.

  marvin

Maybe it's just worth listening to.

[marvinbrown]

Maybe it's just worth listening to.

  LOL  !

  marvin

[Hector]

  Do you find that it is a "more accomplished" work musically than Faust??  I like operas that are musically quite heavy and I found Faust lacking in "quality" when compared th Verdi's operas and Bizet's Carmen, but that's just my opinion of course  .

  marvin 

Yes. No, but different. There is more humour in 'Faust' than 'Carmen' or most of Verdi's operas, for example, that I find quite engaging.

You should see the Covent Garden production with Terfel in drag!

[tomseeley]

I'm no opera expert but I am a fan.  So I'd like some feedback from you out there who know more than I ever will, which is all of you, and I mean that in the most favorable way!

I got a CD for Christmas of Gounod's Romeo et Juliette which I like but I'm curious if others know it too, and what you think of it.

It's a restoration of a live broadcast from the Met originally broadcast on radio in 1935.  The principals are:

Juliette - Eide Norena
Romeo - Charles Hackett
Conductor - Louis Hasselmans

It has been reissued on CD by Naxos.

As I said, I like it but what do I know!  The fidelity is what you'd expect from a restoration to CD from what originally appeared on radio in the 1930s.  The singing is fine, to my ear, but the tenor comes across a bit nasal to me.  I've heard other broadcasts of other tenors from the same period, and it's about the same.  So I mean no knock on Hackett; just my ears' opinion.  Juliette's voice is very light and fluid (is that an opera term?) and sounds to me just right for the character.  So does Hackett's for that matter, given the nasal quality I mentioned above.  I wonder how they both appeared physically on stage, given that they appear to me to fit together well on CD.

Other than that, the only odd thing I heard is the radio announcer chiming in during the applause, curtain calls, etc., explaining to the radio audience what's going on on stage.  Clearly not how we'd hear it on radio today, I suspect, once the performance starts!

Opinions?  Thoughts?  thx

[aquablob]

Judging by the lack of responses, I deduce that, contrary to your inkling, you are indeed among the more knowledgeable posters on the forum about this opera.

[Anne]

Regarding people from the US, they may not have heard it.  The copyright laws here prevent us from hearing many Naxos CD's.   

[marvinbrown]

Regarding people from the US, they may not have heard it.  The copyright laws here prevent us from hearing many Naxos CD's.   

  Hi Anne, it's marvinbrown it's good to have you back on GMG I hope you have recovered fully  .  I was not aware that there were copyright laws that prevent Americans from hearing many naxos CDs I wonder why that is ??

[Anne]

  Hi Anne, it's marvinbrown it's good to have you back on GMG I hope you have recovered fully  .  I was not aware that there were copyright laws that prevent Americans from hearing many naxos CDs I wonder why that is ??

Hi Marvin,  thanks for the kind words.  My shoulder is not totally well yet but is making improvements.  The deal with Naxos CD's is this.  I believe all of Europe says a copyright extends for 50 years.  It used to be 50 years in the US also.  In the US we now have to wait many more years than 50 before the book or CD or whatever is considered out of copyright.  I think that situation is the result of record, DVD, CD, books lobbying our government to make the law for how long the copyright is in effect much longer than it is in Europe.  As a result operas performed at the Met 50 years ago Naxos can sell copies of the original performance to people in Europe but not to people in the US.

Another situation that is unfair to people in the US is the cost of prescriptions.  We must pay a much greater amount than the rest of the world does.  When the patent expires, then other drug companies can make their own drugs to sell to people in the US.  These are called generics.  They are just as good as the original drug but the prices are much, much cheaper.  I am buying a generic right now.  It just became available last summer.  It was an extended release capsule, which was nice because one took all the capsules needed for the day at one time in the morning.  The capsules spread themselves out over the day.  Now I buy the generic which is not extended release and which means I have to remember to take the capsules at 3 other times during the day.  As a result anyone coming to visit me will see 2 or 3 pills here on my computer keyboard.  Even with that I still manage to forget to take them.

The copyright and patent situations are examples of why Barak Obama is determined that no lobbyists will be allowed to corrupt the congress with bribes, etc.  I don't believe he was totally successful but he tried.