[Met Performance] CID:97420



Rom?o et Juliette
Metropolitan Opera House, Fri, December 2, 1927




Rom?o et Juliette (146)
Charles Gounod | Jules Barbier/Michel Carr?
Rom?o
Beniamino Gigli

Juliette
Queena Mario

Fr?re Laurent
Pavel Ludikar

St?phano
Ellen Dalossy

Mercutio
Giuseppe De Luca

Benvolio
Giordano Paltrinieri

Gertrude
Henriette Wakefield

Capulet
Adamo Didur

Tybalt
Angelo Bad?

P?ris
Millo Picco

Gr?gorio
Paolo Ananian

Duke of Verona
Joseph Macpherson


Conductor
Louis Hasselmans







Review 1:

Review of Leonard Liebling in the American

'ROMEO AND JULIET' IN REVIVAL, WITH GIGLI AND MARIO

Time was when Gounod's "Romeo et Juliet" used to be taken quite seriously in musical circles, and there was talk of the "interpretation" of Shakespeare's romantic pair by this or that partnered tenor and soprano. In these days of operatic sophistication the great love drama of Verona, with Gounod's musical setting, is looked upon merely as a series of detached scenes that serve as vehicles for the singing of easily flowing and highly sugared melodic phrases. This revival of this old opera at the Metropolitan last evening gave vocal pleasure and thereby served the present reason for continued existence.

Ovation for Gigli

Beniamino Gigli was the Romeo and if he did not succeed in being the Shakespearian hero, at least he poured forth a great deal of lovely vocalism, appealing in tone and beautifully smooth in phrasing. His style was sufficiently Gallic to please those many hearers who do not differentiate in such matters and the patriarchs who mournfully recalled Jean de Reszke were voices crying in loneliness. This house rose at Gigli and gave him salvos of genuinely fervent applause.

Queena Mario was youthful in appearance as Juliet, acted sweetly in the balcony scene, and sang with charm and intelligence in that and other episodes. The balcony duet of Gigli and Mario was an exquisitely blended piece of vocalism. Pavel Ludikar's Friar Larent was a benign impersonation smoothly sung. This artist has the facility of doing everything well without stepping from the picture.

The shorter roles of Mercutio and Capulet had authoritative exponents in, respectively, De Luca and Didur. The page, Stephano, was trim little Ellen Dalossy, who warbled her stanzas prettily. Others assisting capably were Henriette Wakefiled, Angelo Bada , Giordano Paltrinieri, Millo Picco, Joseph Macpherson and Paolo Ananian.

Louis Hasselmans conducted with good taste and sure hand, betokening thorough familiarity with the score.



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