The opera was sung in Italian with English subtitles and accompanied by a live orchestra. The most outstanding element of this operatic performance was delivered by the vocal prowess of the leading parts Romeo and Juliet, played by Samantha Price and Jessica Cale. Masimba Ushe and Brenton Spiteri also played pivotal roles as Lorenzo and Tebaldo.
Opening in the interior of a secluded Italian bar, with all the men dressed in dark coloured suits, it singles out Giulietta in her bright cream coloured dress. The Capuleti’s leering eyes follow Giulietta’s every move across the bar, isolating her as the only woman in this company of men. Indeed, Giulietta was the only female character in the opera and whilst Romeo was played by a woman (the impressively talented Samantha Price), there was an overwhelmingly masculine atmosphere constituted on stage throughout. This foreshadowed from the beginning, the violence and disarray of the play’s resolution.
As an audience we are accustomed to Romeo and Giulietta stealing most of the glory in this story, however I found myself more invested in the feuding scenes between the two households. With the time modernised to a 20th century setting, it brings dramatic liveliness to Bellini’s opera, especially the brawl between the Montecchi and the Capuleti, where swords were swapped for guns and knives in a thrilling slow motion fight. In fact, despite both leads being played by women, the stage presence was often possessed by the rest of the male-dominated cast. Though, this may not be a fault of the production but rather the source material.
It is important to consider that Romeo and Giulietta’s relationship is perhaps not the main focus of Bellini’s opera as Bellini chose to title his opera The Capulets & the Montagues, distancing Romeo and Giulietta as the primal plot focus. Before Romeo and Giulietta can even grace the stage together, Bellini emphasises this overtly hyper-masculine energy, with the presence of the Capulet men who immediately spread out across the stage, and begin utilising the set by drinking, smoking outside the bar and jostling each other in conversation, ultimately conveying the patriarchal hierarchy in place.
Samantha Price and Jessica Cale’s final duet as Romeo and Giulietta was heart wrenchingly beautiful, and made more moving with the staging of Juliet’s previous funeral in the background. This included dimmed lighting and live flames surrounding Giuletta’s altar, creating a dramatic and ambient atmosphere. With part of the stage surrounded with candles ablaze, it encapsulated the fiery passion of Romeo and Giulitta’s love but also its fleetingness, as like a flame, their love could be snuffed out just as quickly as it had caught alight from their reunion.
Overall, the director’s decision to modernise elements of the play, taking creative licence to update costumes and set gave Bellini’s opera a more powerfully moving ending, demonstrating this built up male angst caused by the two household’s feuding could only be resolved in violence despite Romeo and Giulietta’s attempts at a happy ending.
Rating: ★★★★☆
Bellini’s The Capulets & the Montagues played at the Lyceum Theatre on April 4th, & is touring the U.K. until April 26th
