Opera Hong Kong and Le French May present Roméo et Juliette A brand new production premiered in Hong Kong! To commemorate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, Opera Hong Kong will present a brand new production of Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette (Romeo and Juliet) in Le French May Festival this year. The production will dazzle the audience with its poetic set and creative lighting by French director Arnaud Bernard. Starring French shining young opera singers Vannina Santoni (Juliette) and Sébastien Guèze (Roméo), along with other international and local talents, Opera Hong Kong Chorus and the Fujian Symphony Orchestra under the baton of French maestro Benjamin Pionnier, the opera will relive the celebrated love story in a new dimension. Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette is one of the most successful adaptations of the Shakespeare tragedy. The opera in five acts is sung to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré. The music and lyrics capture the tender intimacy and intense emotions of the couple perfectly throughout four iconic love duets for soprano and tenor, as does the powerful music for the chorus and orchestra. The sacred nature of the music evidences Gounod’s spirituality and religious involvement, and his Roméo et Juliette thus illustrates a tremendous breadth and depth, which is one of the great achievements of the opera. The music also vividly depicts the active strife between the rival families, which is ultimately responsible for the tragic ending. This focus on drama through lyricism established the new genre of drame lyrique for the late 19th century opera. The success of Roméo et Juliette is made manifest by its timeless popularity. The opera premiered in Paris in 1867 during l’Exposition Universelle (the World's Fair) where it was an immediate sensation. By the end of 1867, it had also been produced in England, Germany, Belgium and New York. It became a staple at the Opéra-Comique and, eventually, the Paris Opera. Today, it is still a staple of the French operatic repertoire. The librettists, Jules Barbier and Michel Carré, had indeed been the librettists for Faust, Gounod’s earlier operatic triumph. They treated the Shakespearean play with great respect, substantially keeping the original plot and dialogue; at the same time, they removed some of the characters and created a new character, Stephano, Romeo’s page. A marriage scene, which is not present in the play, was also added. The final reconciliation scene was removed to allow for a new final scene in which Romeo dies after Juliet awakens, providing the setting for the lovers' last duet. All the changes were made for the needs of Gounod’s music. Roméo et Juliette immerses audiences in brilliant music and performances that take them through one of the most heartbreaking love stories, from Act I when Romeo and Juliet fall in love to the tragic death of the “star-crossed lovers” (ill-fated lovers) in Act V. The opera boasts French sophistication and fine musical craft, and in its dramatic melody, we hear the sound of true love. Vannina Santoni studied at the Conservatoire de Paris (Paris Conservatory) and began her career singing the role of Donna Anna in Don Giovanni in Italy. She has gone on to perform at some of the most famous opera houses such as Opéra de Tours and Opéra de Massy in lead roles including Fiordiligi in Cosi fan tutte, Leïla in Les pêcheurs de perles (The Pearl Fishers) and Adina in L'elisir d'amore (The Elixir of Love). Her vocal repertoire encompasses oratorio and opera. Sébastien Guèze was awarded the Prize of the Public and second prize in Placido Domingo's renowned voice competition “Operalia”, which launched his career to the international level. He has sung at numerous famous opera houses around the world, for example, Teatro La Fenice in Venice, La Monnaie in Brussels, Teatr Wielki in Warsaw and Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris. Director and designer Arnaud Bernard has been nominated nine times at The Golden Masks Festival in Moscow for La Juive and La bohème. He is the youngest stage director ever to have worked at the Arena de Verona with his production of La bohème, created in 2005 and revived in 2007 and 2011. His productions have been staged at many of the renowned opera houses. How Gounod Immortalized R & J - Rupert Chan: ​http://www.operahongkong.org/files/RJ_rupert_eng.pdf

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Roméo et Juliette (opera in 5 acts) Producer: Warren Mok Conductor: Benjamin Pionnier Director: Arnaud Bernard Cast Juliette: Vannina Santoni Roméo: Sébastien Guèze Frère Laurent: Gong Dong Jian Mercutio: Guillaume Andrieux Capulet: Guy Bonfiglio Tybalt: Haô Ting Fujian Symphony Orchestra Opera Hong Kong Chorus