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Charles Gounod
ROMÉO ET JULIETTE
The composer held Shakespeare’s dramas in high regard

Charles Gounod never stood alone with his opera Roméo et Juliette, first performed in 1867 at the Théâtre Lyrique in Paris. Over the centuries there was plenty of competition.
The subject of the tragic lovers from Verona had been used many times and that was precisely why it was so popular. The story about the feuding families Montague and Capulet, who were only reconciled at the graves of their children, became most renowned in 1596 through William Shakespeare but even he had simply cribbed from other authors.

The existence of Romeo and Juliet cannot be historically proven

When looking up to “Julia’s balcony”, as it is called, in a beautiful Renaissance courtyard in Verona, every visitor has to think about her, but there is no historical proof that she and her lover ever existed. Even what is assumed to be her grave is shown. The families of the Ghibellines and Guelphs did indeed fight over who governed the city but there are no reports about anything like a fateful love affair during the conflict. The unfortunate lovers appear for the first time in 1476 in the novellino by Masuccio Salernitano. Luigi da Porto and Matteo Bandello also dealt with the subject in 1530 and 1554.

Inspired by Bellini and Berlioz

Charles Gounod, composer and priest, producer of popular operas and frequently sung oratorios, found himself there-fore in a certain tradition. In 1859 he had become world famous with his opera version of Faust (for a long time known in German-speaking countries only as Margarethe, out of respect for Goethe) and he now referred especially to compositions by two musical predecessors: I Capuleti e i Montecchi by Vincenzo Bellini, a work in the Italian belcanto tradition, had been given its world premiere in Venice in 1830.
In this opera Romeo is a fiery young man sung by a mezzo-soprano (a later tenor version is of doubtful origin). And furthermore, arias were predominant, whereby the vocal presentation was always more important than scenic and dramatic credibility. The dramatic symphony Roméo et Juliette dating from 1839 by Hector Berlioz, a sparkling and equally brilliant hybrid work, had also deeply impressed Gounod when he attended a rehearsal. In particular Mercutio’s Ballade de la Reine Mab in the first act of his opera seems to have been inspired by Berlioz.

In the style of French singing tradition

In its effervescent lyricism Roméo et Juliette offered everything that people liked to hear and see at that time: a libretto deftly compiled by the experienced authors Jules Barbier and Michel Carré and doing full justice to Shakespeare, with various contrasting situations such as the ball, love scene, secret wedding, duel, sepulchral darkness; effective, tuneful arias especially for Juliet, here in a much lighter and brighter characterisation – completely in the style of French singing tradition. There are indeed four wonderful duets for the lovers, emphasising intimate rather than exterior aspects but without interrupting the dramatic flow of the action.

Roméo et Juliette was Gounod’s greatest stage success

From the very beginning therefore Roméo et Juliette was an undisputed success. A composer at the zenith of his art, who enveloped already well-known figures in powerful and effective melodies. It is hardly surprising that every famous singer liked to use this opera as a vehicle to show off their art and it remained one of the pillars of French repertoire until the 1950s. Why is it seldom performed nowadays? Perhaps in our time the drama has to be seen in less bright and elegant colours and in rather more gloomy tones, as portrayed by Sergey Prokofiev, for instance, in his ballet version dating from 1944. Besides there are fewer and fewer singers who have at their command the light, agile style as required in this piece. Thus with the disappearance of Roméo et Juliette and other similar works, we have to lament above all the demise of an eloquent singing tradition.

Manuel Brug

Charles Gounod
Roméo et Juliette
Concert performance in French

Grosses Festspielhaus

20 and 24 August 2002
Performances begin at 6.30 p.m.

Tickets are available from
€ 8     (ATS 110.08) to
€ 190 (ATS 2,614.46)