Romeo & Juliet

Music by Charles Gounod
Libretto by Jules Barbier & Michel Carré, after Shakespeare
English text by Edmund Tracy 
Performance edition by David Angus, Steven Maler and John Conklin  

 

FREE  on the Boston Common
Thursday, August 11, 2022 | 8PM
Saturday, August 13, 2022 | 8PM

Sung in English with English surtitles.
The running time is two hours including intermission.

These FREE performances on Boston Common, in partnership with Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, present Shakespeare’s most beloved and tragic tale. Experience the rush of first love while enjoying a beautiful summer evening with a full orchestra playing the soaring music of this classic favorite. Featuring passion-filled duets, backed by a sweeping chorus, feel the power of opera in an incredible setting.

SUPPORT BLO AND GET GREAT SEATS!

While our upcoming performances of Romeo & Juliet are free and open to the public, premium Friends Section seating options are available when you make a donation of $100 or more to Boston Lyric Opera. Friends Section seating is limited and subject to availability.

OR RENT A CHAIR!

Rent a chair so you don’t have to bring one! Chair rentals are available for $10. Both tall and short chairs are available to rent. Subject to availability, and also available for onsite reservation.

“A well-executed, rewarding night of opera in the heart of the city!”

“The performance was lifted by its strong singing and the fine work from the onstage 47-piece orchestra.”

“Vanessa Becerra as Juliet [is] a gifted young soprano on the rise, she sang with clarity, luster, and charisma.” 

“BLO music director David Angus had the orchestra and chorus sounding in good form, and his fluid, idiomatic approach to Gounod’s voluptuously songful score anchored the evening as a whole.”

“It was good to see BLO back on the Common, and the company deserves credit for delivering this opera as a kind of gift to the city at large.”

The Boston Globe

“Exquisite melodies! A treat [and] a rare opportunity to experience Romeo & Juliet

“…an audience of thousands, reclining on blankets and beach chairs while absorbing Gounod’s exquisite melodies”

“The BLO orchestra and chorus performed admirably under the firm hand of music director David Angus. And BLO’s cast did not disappoint.”

Tenor Ricardo Garcia and soprano Vanessa Becerra were both ideally suited to their roles as the star-crossed lovers…[they] acted their roles with appropriate passion. Garcia’s voice had just the right, heroic timbre for Romeo. Becerra was a joy to hear.

EDGE Boston

“Beautifully stylized! An outstanding production!”

“A great way to introduce those who don’t know they’re going to love opera to its glories.” 

“Ricardo Garcia as Romeo and Vanessa Becerra as Juliet put across the youthful energy and beautiful voices needed for these demanding roles.” 

“Baritone Nicholas LaGesse and mezzo Mack Wolz really stood out… Hear both these singers while you can; they’re going places.” 

Boston Musical Intelligencer

Verona. The stage fills with street performers who introduce a tragic tale of forbidden love caught between two feuding families.

At the Capulets’ summer masquerade, Tybalt and Paris eagerly await the entrance of Juliet Capulet, who arrives on her father’s arm. Lord Capulet hopes to see his daughter married to Paris. However, Juliet dreams of a different love, one that has her “smiling in a dreamland.” She meets Romeo Montague, who has secretly joined the festivities, and the two immediately fall in love, uninhibited by the knowledge of each other’s identity. The lovers are soon interrupted by Tybalt, and Romeo realizes he has met the daughter of Lord Capulet. He quickly dons a mask to hide his face, but it’s too late. Tybalt recognizes the voice of his longstanding enemy just as Romeo makes his hasty exit. Meanwhile, Juliet is distressed that her love has crossed family lines.

Under the cover of darkness, Romeo comes to Juliet’s balcony to declare his love. Juliet sighs, mourning his identity as a Montague. She startles, realizing that she has been overheard. As the two profess their feelings for each other, Juliet asks Romeo to send the day, hour, and place to elope. Juliet’s nurse Gertrude calls out to her, and the young lovers lament their farewells. Early the next morning, Romeo pays a visit to Friar Laurent and begs him to wed the couple. Juliet joins them, followed by her nurse Gertrude. Relenting, Friar Laurent leads the group in prayer and performs the wedding ceremony. He hopes that the marriage will end the strife between the families.

In the square in front of the Capulets’ palace, Stephano sings about a turtledove trapped in a vulture’s nest. Gregorio picks a fight with Stephano, thinking that he is the man they had chased away from the party the previous evening. Mercutio intervenes to defend Stephano, and Tybalt challenges him to a duel. In the skirmish, Mercutio is killed by Tybalt, and Romeo, avenging his friend’s death, stabs Tybalt to death. Romeo is then banished from the city after both sides demand justice.

Later that evening, Romeo secretly visits Juliet. Juliet forgives him for the duel, arguing that had Tybalt not died, Juliet would have been mourning Romeo. The young lovers struggle to say goodbye; they declare their love for each other as night glows into dawn. After Romeo leaves, Juliet is distraught: she is to marry Paris the next day. She goes to Friar Laurent in despair, begging him to help her escape. Her fate—a life without Romeo—is so appalling that death seems enticing, rather than to live in a false marriage. Friar Laurent gives her a sleeping potion that imitates a temporary death for a day. After her family buries her in the family tomb, Friar Laurent will send a message to Romeo who will be there when she awakes, and then the two can run away together. Drinking the potion, Juliet tells herself that despite her fears, this plan will ultimately bring her happiness. Lord Capulet comes to escort her to her wedding, and she faints in his arms.

In the tomb, Romeo sees Juliet and believes her to be dead. He had received word about Juliet’s death but not the message from Friar Laurent. In his inconsolable grief, he consumes poison just as Juliet wakes. She realizes that Romeo is by her side, and the two lovers share a vision of a future “happy and free, in love.” In her final act of love, Juliet stabs herself with a dagger from Romeo’s belt, eager to join Romeo again.

        – Allison Chu

Allison Chu is a Ph.D. candidate in Music History at Yale University. Her research focuses on the intersection of identity and opera in the twenty-first century.

Vanessa Becerra

Juliet

Ricardo Garcia

Romeo

Mack Wolz

Stephano

Nicholas LaGesse

Mercutio

Omar Najmi

Tybalt

Fred C. VanNess Jr.

Paris

Joshua Conyers

Capulet

Arielle Rogers – Wilkey

Gertrude, Juliet’s Nurse

Junhan Choi

Gregorio

Philip Lima

Friar Laurent

Ed Hoopman

Actor

Cheryl D. Singleton

Actor

David McFerrin

Gregorio (August 11 and 13)

David Angus

Conductor

Steven Maler

Stage Director

John Conklin

Dramaturg

Eric Southern

Production/Lighting Designer

Nancy Leary

Costume Designer

Victoria L. Awkward

Choreographer

FREE on the Boston Common

139 Tremont Street | Boston, MA 02111

Boston Common Stage
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ACCESSIBILITY The Boston Common is accessible, and there will be assisted listening devices available on site. Accessible parking is available at the Boston Common Garage, and Park Street red/green line station is accessible with an elevator to street level. For more details on accessible transportation, please see this video from our friends at the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company. 
 
BLO will provide English surtitles on screens either side of the stage.
 
For help with special seating or mobility and access needs, BLO Audience Services can be reached at 617.542.6772 or boxoffice@blo.org.

Our production of Romeo & Juliet takes place on The Boston Common which has a seldom-discussed, bloody history towards Indigenous peoples. BLO joins CSC’s wish to express our sorrow for this history and extend our deepest gratitude for use of this space.

To learn more, we invite you to read more here.

While our production will be in English, check out this original language recording of this opera featuring Mirella Freni and Franco Corelli to get familiar with the music!