The Stage

I Capuleti e i Montecchi

Published Tuesday 3 March 2009 at 17:16 by George Hall

Bellini’s version of the Romeo and Juliet story bypasses Shakespeare, who was unknown in Italy around 1830, and goes back to the subject’s original Italian sources.

The emphasis is thrown entirely on the two young lovers, here sung by Russian soprano Anna Netrebko and Latvian mezzo Elina Garanca, who dominate the show.

Rarely will you hear bel canto sung by such lavish and glamorous voices at the peak of their beauty. For that alone this is a special evening. In an ideal world, the Italian text would be savoured more, and there would be greater light and shade, but this remains an exceptional vocal duo. Garanca is particularly striking as the adolescent youth in love.

Strong support from Dario Schmunck’s feisty Tebaldo and a discerning Capellio from Eric Owens, though Giovanni Battista Parodi’s Lorenzo lacks weight.

The chorus are on fine form, even if Pizzi’s 1984 staging, carefully revived by Massimo Gasparon, asks very little of them but to stand and deliver. As a representation of what audiences might have seen in Venice in 1830, it has a certain historic interest. As a living recreation of a drama Bellini clearly took seriously, it is inert to a degree.

Fortunately, a lot of the drama lies in the vocal lines, and they do not disappoint. It’s there, too, in Mark Elder’s authoritative conducting, which captures not only the style but the fire and melancholy of the score.