Opera San Jose's Romeo et Juliette

Gounod’s Romeo et Juliette

September 9, 2023

Opera San Jose

OSJ opened its 40th anniversary by bringing back R&J after a 17-year absence, and it’s a welcome return. The score is beautiful, pointing backward to Mozart, forward to Massenet, and despite its everpresence in modern culture (in both original and West Side forms), the story still offers poignant and infuriating moments.

The production is also the first that Shawna Lucey has stage directed since becoming OSJ's general director and CEO. Her work in this production immediately establishes the primacy of dance-like movement. This begins with a lengthy dance interlude featuring Antara Bhardwaj, Maansa Kavuri, Juan Magacho and SNJV, mixing balletic and classical Indian styles in an enchanting fashion. The choreographic feeling translates to the players, as well, notably Romeo, whose movements evoke a graceful, mannered feeling.

The cast is superb, beginning with our two leads. As Juliet, Melissa Sondhi introduces herself with the sprightly showpiece “Je veux vivre,” displaying a shimmering, agile soprano. Joshua Sanders exhibits an equally lyric tenor, and one can hardly wait to hear them together. Fortunately, the opera contains four duets, and Gounod delights in unison singing. The balcony scene duet, “O nuit divine,” is especially spine-tingling.

But these two don’t stop there. Both demonstrate an ability to take their lyric voices into dramatic territory, with tremendous results. For Sondhi, this comes with the fiery “Amour ranime mon courage,” the scene in which Juliet considers taking the friar’s death-simulating potion as an escape from her terrible situation. When Romeo discovers Juliet’s apparently dead body laid out on a tomb, Sanders unleashes his own surprising power and intensity, leading into the excruciating, tragic finale. The dynamic range exhibited by both singers is remarkable.

Not that the rest of the cast is wanting. Robert Balonek brings boisterous energy to the bawdy Count Capulet. Courtney Miller has entirely too much fun as Juliet’s scheming nurse, Gertrude. Mezzo Melisa Bonetti Luna shines in the trouser role of Stephano, taunting the Capulets with “Que faisto, blanche tourterelle.” Kenneth Kellogg lends “rizz” and presence to the Duke of Verona.

The center of the tribal conflict is represented by two veteran presences. Alex Boyer plays Tybalt with a powerful tenor and swaggering presence. Baritone Efrain Solis lends a dashing, comic aura to Mercutio, especially in the Queen Mab ballade, an gibe at his suddenly peace-loving friend Romeo. When the two fighters engage in their ill-fated duel, it’s a bit like a good pro wrestling match. Everyone knows it’s fake, but we’re all still a little concerned that someone’s going to get hurt. Romeo’s running-through of Tybalt is especially convincing (fight director Dave Maier).

The choruses, children and adults, are filled with energy, performing the village scenes with great exuberance (Johannes Lohner, chorus master). The choral reaction to Juliet’s wedding-day collapse is exceptionally powerful.

Steven C. Kemp’s set design offers some intriguing ideas: a first half of verdant spring driven by hate to the second half’s starkly apocalyptic vista: the ruins of a church lying in a nuked-out wasteland like a foundering ship. Unfortunately, the ivy-covered walls of the early going resemble furry Astroturf.

I had an equally hard time understanding Caitlin Cisek’s costumes, which were loosely medieval but not always flattering, particularly in the case of Romeo’s hobbit-like togs. I had a change of mind, however, when I looked into Cisek’s approach: she wanted each character’s garments to reflect whatever that particular person was going through in his/her life. Mercutio, for example, wore tight, athletic-looking clothing, forever prepared to participate in his favorite sport of swordplay. In the bedroom scene, Juliet wakes in transparent, lacy lingerie, while Romeo wears simple pajamas, reflecting both her sexual awakening and his adherence to sentimentality. This, along with many other elements, adds to a distinctively feminist reading of Juliet, who really was (especially for her time) a remarkable figure, determined to break away from the patriarchal strictures of church and family.

Joseph Marcheso gave his usual sublime reading of the score (apparently his first performance of this particular opera), wringing a maximum intensity from the many edgy scenes. Every time the strings came out with Gounod’s lovely R&J motif, I felt myself floating with rapture.

Through September 24 at California Theatre, 345 S. First Street, San Jose. In French with English and Spanish supertitles. Jasmine Habersham sings Juliet on 9/15 and 9/24. $55-$195, operasj.org, 408/437-4450.

Michael J. Vaughn is a 39-year opera critic and the author of 28 novels, including the acclaimed Mermaids’ Tears, available at Amazon.

Photos by Kristen Loken.