I Capuleti e i Montecchi, San Francisco Opera, Sept. 27 2012

Bellini’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi is being advertised as The Capulets and the Montagues, but since it is sung in Italian I’ll use the proper Italian title. It is not “Romeo and Juliet;” the plot is drawn from the same source that Shakespeare used. Shakespeare told the story with his modifications, while Bellini and his librettist Felice Romani made theirs. In this opera, the action takes place within a span of 24 hours, Romeo and Giulietta are already in love before the curtain opens, and Friar Laurence is a doctor because the stage was not permitted to portray religious characters. Nevertheless, it is prime bel canto opera, the first of Bellini’s successful works.

As presented in this dress rehearsal, the production is a modern one, not entirely successful but not as outlandish as others. Each of the two acts was divided into three scenes. In Act 1 Scene 1, the main feature was the trapezoidal performing space: left and right walls slanting back to a rear wall that was substantially less than the width of the proscenium. On these walls were projected abstract designs of a vague and nebulous nature. Suspended above the chorus were seven rows each containing four saddles, whose purpose escaped me.

In the second scene, the trapezoidal space was replaced by a triangular space, with the intersection of the left and right walls occurring somewhat to the right of center. On the left wall, approximately in the middle of the entire left-right distance, was a porcelain sink. The presence of this sink confused all of the reviewers that I have read, but I think that my law-enforcement friend nailed it. He said that it was just like a San Quentin prison cell; the set is supposed to suggest that Giulietta is imprisoned in a gilded cage. At one point she climbed up, stood in/on the sink, and reached as high up the wall as she could, suggesting an escape attempt. Also notable was the floor: highly reflective, as good as a mirror. I wondered what it was actually made of.

In the third scene, we were back to the trapezoidal space, but this time the trapezoid was filled with bleachers. There was a rectangular opening in the back wall, and the bleachers continued through this opening and back as far as the eye could see.

Act 2 Scene 1 was the bleachers again, but this time the front of the stage was occupied by four giant cylinders, arranged like a picture frame. Scene 2 was the triangular space, and scene 3 was the trapezoidal space, with a low platform for Giuletta’s tomb.

Our cast:
Giulietta: Nicole Cabell
Romeo: Joyce DiDonato    
Tebaldo: Saimir Pirgu
Lorenzo: Ao Li    
Capellio: Eric Owens    
Conductor: Riccardo Frizza    
Director: Vincent Boussard   
Set Designer: Vincent Lemaire

I don’t normally comment on the performances at a dress rehearsal because the singers may not be singing at full voice. Nevertheless, at this dress rehearsal both Nicole Cabell and Joyce DiDonato were magnificent. I will be very very happy if they sing this well at the regular performance.