At Bastille Karine Deshayes was Romeo and found a new Giullieta for the opening night!

Last thursday night, I was at Bastille Opera House for the opening night of Bellini's Romeo and Giulietta, which could well be the title of this opera.... like Shakespeare 's play, Gounod's opera, and Berlioz's symphonic work . Instead, it is called "I Capuleti e i Montecchi",  based on ancestral conflicts between two sides of Verona's citizens under the ruling of two wealthy families leading each group.(in this Robert Carsen production the Montague ones wear black outfit, the Capulet ones wear red).

 I also went to the Bayerische Staatsoper to listen to Vesselina kasarova's Romeo and her Giullieta-Eri Nakamura, replacing Anna Netrebko.
It goes without saying that this opening night was for me an important date with Karine Deshayes and Bellini.
I was here in 2008, at the  same Carsen production with Joyce Di Donato-Romeo and Anna Netrebko-Giullieta in the main roles. Then I saw another production at the Bayerische Staatsoper with Vesselina Kasarova in Romeo, for my greatest pleasure, another mezzo, another wonderful Bellini's evening!
This time no washbasin on the wall... and no last walk hand in hand into Eternity for our heros, but similar beautiful Bellini's solos with French horn, clarinet, flute and the cello.
Last thursday, the balance between the pit and the stage was  efficient and moving, much more than what I can recall from the same production in 2008 under E.Pido.
I enjoyed this opening night with thorough excitement and pleasure! Romeo was so accurate and juvenile, with dream tops and heroic accents when necessary, acting like it was a real story to my eyes and ears. I could not find one second of non-commitment from her acting and singing. She slipped into this transvestite role with ease and was really stunning,  elegant singing, juvenile acting, terribly affectionate with her young and pretty Giullieta.
 Karine Deshayes does not play to impress, her singing is sufficient already to make us feel the soul and heart of her role, then all the rest comes with simplicity which implies so much work  accomplished to seem so natural ! She manages  her lower range and with this role it is quite impressive. I had a great night, following her handling the sword, fencing against Tebaldo and jumping fiercely in front of him. Tebaldo- Charles Castronovo  is also very natural.  He seemed a bit stiff in the first scene  when he offered his  services to Giullieta's father as a replacement son for Capellio's one stabbed by Romeo,  but his top voice soared brilliantly too, and gradually he became more convincing with fusing tops and coloratura.  Before the ouverture, unfortunately, an announcement was made to excuse Ekaterina Siurina, being not well, and replaced by Yun Jung Choi. Owing to the great professionalism of all the singers, especially this Korean singer and Karine Deshayes for the heavy parts shared in this work, this opening night did not suffer at all from this sudden change in the cast. Giullieta sounded wonderful, acting with her Romeo as if she had covered all the rehearsals. What a sweet voice too for this role... again a singer who does nor rely on her looks but on her musical abilities, and the duets and ensembles sounded terrific! Nearly each ensemble received thundering applause.. even when I was totally in rapture with the duet "Deh! t'arrendi a'preghi miei, se ti cal della mia vita: se fedele ancor mi sei, ah! non udir que il nostro amor" ..."Se ogni speme è a me rapita: ma tu pure alcun mi dèi sacrifizio del tuo cor",  the audience broke into applause... to my surprise because it is so moving... how could we produce noise at that moment when tears are at the back of our throats?
There was fantastic chemistry with actors and chorus who played the violent parts with style,  in slow motion when they are fighting, fencing. These movements  match  the music and singing so well .. "all'armi' or "guerra' seemed part of this gloomy reddish light which conveys the terrible feudal  assaults from these two families. I loved the minimalist setting( like I did in 2008), but this time, the ensembles were perfect. It was again the Renaissance atmosphere felt in some paintings, with strict costumes, straight lines, high walls and small doors, hardly any furniture, and the imagination does it all, with the movements on stage, the light effects and the music!
 The tomb last scene with the flight of stairs to the cavernous place, is very dark and cold, opposed to the very poetic white veil on Giullieta's body, strewned with roses... when Romeo asked to have it removed to have a last look at Giullieta's beauty, all the roses fell... autumn of life, premise of death...
Act II is a model of the genre in itself with a dramatic crescendo to the death of both heros and the fatal ending.  Scene VI took place in front of the curtain: Tebaldo is facing Romeo, they are ready to fight, both shouting " All'armi", while the curtain rises slowly on a funeral procession, with the  funeral march for Giulietta, a very soft and sad tune, almost like a prayer, 'Pace alla tua bell'anima" where male and female voices are heard together for the first time in the opera, ( up to now we had  a male chorus either Capuleti or Montecchi soldiers).
From here onward,  the music and singing bring tears and move me so much!
 In this setting, in dim light and almost bare scenery,  there is no eye -catching from the heart of the drama, the pain is huge and shared I think by the whole house. The silenced coughs  are a proof of the concentration! Although we all know the ending we are under the spell of these singers.  In this production we do not see the actual death of Tybalt, Romeo at the sight of Giullieta's procession throws his sword away, and dashes on Tybalt to wrestle, they both feel guilty, and even compare their sufferings:"Ah! di te più disperato, più di te son io trafitto" sings Tebaldo...when he implores "pietà" it means Romeo has almost killed him... while singing again and again 'E morta"... really they both want to die in this last and fatal fight. Fate is also inscribed in Bellini's score. When  Romeo sings'Svena,ah, svena" Tebaldo sings" Vivi, ah! vivi," which will be his last tune in this scene and opera under virtiginous violin scores.
The wheel of fate is turning. Romeo looked for  Lorenzo, after the fight in the Capuleti camp, but did not meet him again, and knows nothing of the fake Giullieta's death.
The tomb scene is certainly the best one, with percussion  to come down to it. The Montecchi soldiers are on the steps trying to drag Romeo away, feeling his dispair and sorrow are bad for him. They show comradeship and sympathy for their leader. But Romeo is almost falling in a kind of delirium, completely lost in his pain. I have the feeling he shares Lucia's foolish state of mind, losing reason (Donizetti knew his Bellini well) because of his lost love. Bellini is the best to express in music and singing the feelings of loss and despair. The poems written by Felice Romani are also a fantastic support for these feelings.
Here we are faced with the finest tunes ever written. (Gounod's found some nice bits and pieces but not for the entire opera).
 "Ecco la tomba... ancor di fiora sparsa, molli di pianto ancor: Il...mio....ricevi...più doloroso, amaro"
The clarinet, then the French horn are the solo instruments accompanying Romeo's despair and melancholy. The last dialogue with the French horn was really overwhelming last thursday night, Karine Deshayes displayed all the colours of her voice in this arioso, and her bel canto was the real thing to my ears as well as her acting until the brief gesture at the back of the stage almost completely dark, swallowing the poison.  I do hope she will record these arias one day.
The last duet was heaven because the voices were well -matched, the soprano voice was agile and young, pure, with spontaneous acting, without affectation, also well chosen to pair Karine's skills.
It was credible and beautiful,  a very touching end.
The cast on the male side was also impressive, all mastering bel canto and soberness in acting.
The conductor B. Campanella is the best I heard conducting this music. The applause were tremendous and lasted almost half an hour. Lucky Paris folks who can go several times to see this cast again and again at cheap prices.. just for the singing and the music.. ! I would, because lyrical "stars" like the ones on this cast are rare and precious.
But at the Parterre where I was sitting,  some of the neighbours were in a hurry to leave and walked past us, the audience who enjoy clapping to thank the artists, and of course I resented this because one can 'escape' from the sides at Bastille and not make shadows on the curtain calls on my video...
Back home, I had time to read the excellent articles in the programme, one particularly from Dominique Fernandez on "gender", explaining why Bellini called his opera 'Capuleti e i Montecchi'.. I will come back to it one day, I hope.
At the stage door: Karine Deshayes and Yun Jung Choi. We can feel they had shared a tremendous work together and thanked each over with affection here.

My curtain calls with shadows... I stopped  the video before the end and decided to clap until the curtain fell for good and made my way to the stage door, so happy with Bellini and this wonderful cast...and I thanked the artists, Charles Castronovo who told me he does not know yet who will sing Marguerite in Baden-Baden on june the 6th, we enquired about his wife's health of course and hoped she recovers  soon. we greeted Paul Gay, Karine Deshayes, and the brave Yun Jung Choi who saved the show!
Not to be forgotten on this page : Happy 450 anniversary to Bill (was on the 23rd )!!!!without whom nothing would be the same...