Gounod: Romeo Et Juliette

Gounod: Romeo Et Juliette

Gounod: Romeo Et Juliette
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CD Details

Edition: Music CD
Format: Original recording remastered
CD Release Date: 1994-09-13
Music Label: EMI Classics
Soundtracks:
Music CD 1
  1. Roméo et Juliette, opera: Ouverture
  2. Roméo et Juliette, opera: Prologue: Vérone Vit Jadis Deux Familles Rivales
  3. Roméo et Juliette, opera: Act One: L'heure S'envole
  4. Roméo et Juliette, opera: Act One: Eh Bien! Cher Pâris
  5. Roméo et Juliette, opera: Act One: Ah! Qu'elle Est Belle!
  6. Rom�©o et Juliette, opera: Act One: Allons! Jeunes Gens! Allons! Belles Dames!
  7. Rom�©o et Juliette, opera: Act One: Enfin La Place Est Libre, Amis!
  8. Rom�©o et Juliette, opera: Act One: Mab, Reine Des Mensonges
  9. Rom�©o et Juliette, opera: Act One: Eh Bien!... Que L'avertissement
  10. Roméo et Juliette, opera: Act One: Voyons, Nourrice, On M'attend! Parle Vite!
  11. Roméo et Juliette, opera: Act One: Je Veux Vivre Dans Ce Rêve
  12. Roméo et Juliette, opera: Act One: Le Nom De Cette Belle Enfant?
  13. Roméo et Juliette, opera: Act One: Ange Adorable, Ma Main Coupable
  14. Roméo et Juliette, opera: Act One: Quelqu'un!...C'est Mon Cousin Tybalt
  15. Roméo et Juliette, opera: Act Two: O Nuit! Sous Tes Ailes Obscures Abrite-Moi!
  16. Roméo et Juliette, opera: Act Two: L'amour, L'amour!...Ah! Lève-toi Soleil!
  17. Roméo et Juliette, opera: Act Two: Hélas! Moi, Le Haïr!
  18. Roméo et Juliette, opera: Act Two: �coute!... On Vient!
  19. Roméo et Juliette, opera: Act Two: De Qui Parlez-vous Donc?
  20. Roméo et Juliette, opera: Act Two: O Nuit Divine! Je T'emplore
  21. Roméo et Juliette, opera: Act Three - Scene One: Entracte
  22. Roméo et Juliette, opera: Act Three - Scene One: Mon Père! Dieu Vous Garde!
  23. Roméo et Juliette, opera: Act Three - Scene One: Dieu Que Fis L'homme � Ton Image!
Music CD 2
  1. Roméo et Juliette, opera: Act Three - Scene Two: Depuis Hier Je Chereche En Vain Mon Maître!
  2. Roméo et Juliette, opera: Act Three - Scene Two: Que Fais-tu, Blanche Tourterelle
  3. Roméo et Juliette, opera: Act Three - Scene Two: Ah! Ah! Voici Nos Gens!
  4. Roméo et Juliette, opera: Act Three - Scene Two: Allons!... Tu Ne Me Connais Pas, Tybalt
  5. Roméo et Juliette, opera: Act Three - Scene Two: Que Le Diable Soit De Vos Deux Maisons!
  6. Roméo et Juliette, opera: Act Three - Scene Two: Il Meurt!... Reviens � Toi!... O Jour De Deuil!
  7. Roméo et Juliette, opera: Act Three - Scene Two: Le Duc! Le Duc!
  8. Roméo et Juliette, opera: Act Four: Scene One: Va! Je T'ai Pardonné, Tybalt Coulait Ta Mort
  9. Roméo et Juliette, opera: Act Four: Scene One: Roméo! Qu'as-tu Donc?
  10. Roméo et Juliette, opera: Act Four: Scene One: Juliette!...Ah! Le Ciel Soit Loué
  11. Roméo et Juliette, opera: Act Four: Scene One: Que L'hymne Nupital Succéde Aux Cris D'alarmes!
  12. Roméo et Juliette, opera: Act Four: Scene One: Mon Père! Tout M'accable!
  13. Roméo et Juliette, opera: Act Four: Scene One: Buvez Donc Ce Breuvage
  14. Roméo et Juliette, opera: Act Four: Scene Two: Ma Fille, Cède Aux Voeux Du Fiancé
  15. Roméo et Juliette, opera: Act Five: Le Sommeil De Juliette
  16. Roméo et Juliette, opera: Act Five: A Toi, Ma Juliette!
  17. Roméo et Juliette, opera: Act Five: Console-Toi, Pauvre �me

Music reviews of Gounod: Romeo Et Juliette

Music Review: Corelli and Freni make it all worthwhile
Rating: 5 Stars

Source:
Studio recording made in June and July 1968 at Salle Wagram, Paris.

Sound:
Good EMI analog stereo, digitally remasterd in 1994.

Cast:
Romeo - Franco Corelli
Juliette - Mirella Freni
Le Compte Capulet - Claude Cales
Mercutio - Henri Gui
Gertrude (Nurse) - Michele Vilma
Tybalt - Robert Cardon
Stephano - Eliane Lublin
Frere Laurent - Xavier Depraz
Le Compte Paris - Christos Grigoriou
Benvolio - Maurice Auzeville
Le Duc de Verone - Pierre Thau.

Conductor:
Alain Lombard, with Orchestre et Choeurs du Theatre National de l'Opera de Paris.

Documentation:
Libretto in French and English. Track list that displays characters singing and provides timings. Summary of the plot tied to the track listings. Unusually fat-headed essay of the history of the opera by Robert T. Jones who informs us that Gounod's "years of theological study had made him a remarkably well-read, cultured person," and that the love music of "Faust" and "Romeo" "takes on a floating, transfigured quality that is immensely convincing." Jones defends Gounod's rather battered reputation by saying, "Since in junking Shakespeare's niceties, he had made it perfectly plain that he was interested not in trying to produce a work on Shakespeare's own level but in creating a successful operatic display piece to soprano and tenor, it seems that critics may have been needlessly harsh on him." With such friends, who needs enemies?

Commentary:
I am taking the contrarian side by saying that Barbier and Carre's libretto for "Romeo et Juliette" isn't bad at all. I refer to its structure, of course, not its language, for I (like most of the residents of the western half of officially bi-lingual Canada) am among the least reliable judges of what constitutes good French speech. Barbier and Carre were, at the very least, workmanlike and respectful to the Shakespearean play. Unlike the benighted hack Romani, who dismembered the story for Bellini, they did not cast out most of the characters and half the plot. Unlike the too-self-confident Berlioz, they did not willfully distort the story or add a useless character as he did in his ruthless assault on the poor, innocent text of "Much Ado About Nothing."

Barbier and Carre actually offer most of the highlights of the play in a more or less coherent manner: the opening chorus (set by Gounod for the entire cast), Romeo's puppy love for Rosaline, the Queen Mab speech, the ball of the Capulets, the meeting of the two lovers, the recognition by Tybalt, the balcony scene (in a fair approximation), the duel between Mercutio and Tybalt, the death of Mercutio (including "a plague on both your houses" but not "not so deep as a well, nor so wide as a church door"), Romeo's revenge on Tybalt, Romeo's exile, the parting of the lovers, the announcement of the forthcoming marriage to Paris, the plot with Friar Laurence, the false death of Juliet, and the tomb, they are all there. There is one addition, a final duet before the young lovers expire. The major omissions are the murder of well-meaning, hard-luck Paris and the final scene of shocked and weeping reconciliation between the warring Capulets and Montagus.

All in all, Barbier and Carre were more faithful to Shakespeare than Boito was in either "Otello" or "Falstaff." If "Romeo et Juliette" is less successful than Verdi's masterpieces, the fault lies not with the librettists. The fault is Charles Gounod's. Robert T. Jones has been kind enough to tell us why: Gounod wanted to create "a successful operatic display piece to soprano and tenor". And, no, the critics have NOT been too harsh on him! In too many places, he turned blazing dramatic genius into tinkling musical treacle. Nevertheless, in its own way and at its own level, "Romeo et Juliette" is pleasing. It really is in the forefront of the B-list operas, perhaps even higher in their ranks than Gounod's "Faust."

With just two exceptions, this is essentially a French recording: French opera, French recording venue, French supporting cast, French conductor, French orchestra and, alas, French chorus. It probably yields as much of the authentic French performing style as could still be found in the summer of 1968, when--as you might recall--interesting and exciting things were taking place on the streets of France outside the recording hall.

The two exceptions are Mirella Freni and Franco Corelli, and they are what this performance is all about. I am confident that I could make the case that they are wrong for the opera. They are Italian. Corelli's French, in particular, is questionable, to say the least. (Even I, a Pacific Coast Canuck, can tell that!) Their singing styles are Italian to their very essence, wholly un-French. They are too powerful, too self-confident to be convincing as tremulous teen-agers. All of this is true. And all of this is irrelevant. Corelli and Freni are great as Romeo and Juliette! THAT is what is relevant. This is a performance for which to kick back and just let the glorious sound roll over you, while you idly wonder how such markedly lesser talents as Alagna and Gheorghiu were chosen to record the opera in our time.

I have no reasonable expectation of hearing a better recording of "Romeo et Juliette" in high quality sound during this lifetime, so I gladly join with the previous four Amazon reviewers in assigning five stars to this one.
More Gounod: Romeo Et Juliette free music reviews:
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