📧 Stay connected with OTSL — news, invitations, and more delivered to your inbox | Sign up here

A Note from the Conductor

by Ramón Tebar

Charles Gounod’s Romeo and Juliet is one of those operas that reminds us why this art form still matters. Among all of Gounod’s works, it stands out for its emotional directness, its beautiful melodies, and the way it tells a story everyone already knows — but somehow makes it feel fresh and deeply personal. While Faust made Gounod famous, Romeo and Juliet is often the opera that audiences fall in love with, as was the case with me as a teenager, when I was introduced to the opera world. No wonder it remains one of the most popular and frequently performed operas in the world.

Shakespeare has always been irresistible to opera composers because his stories deal with big, timeless emotions: love, hate, jealousy, power, and loss. But setting Shakespeare to music is not easy. His plays depend heavily on language — quick exchanges, clever wordplay, and poetic detail — which don’t always translate naturally into singing. Many composers have struggled with this. Gounod succeeded because he didn’t try to copy Shakespeare’s words. Instead, he captured the heart of the story and let the music do the talking. The latter is what makes opera so powerful and appealing.

The libretto simplifies the plot and focuses almost entirely on the two lovers. Politics and side stories step into the background, making room for what Gounod does best: expressing feeling through melody. The music is elegant, clear, and intimate — what we would call very French in style. The orchestration never overwhelms the singers, and the vocal lines feel natural and expressive. At the center are the four great love duets, which follow Romeo and Juliet from first love to final tragedy. These scenes are the reason why so many singers dream of performing this opera, and why so many audiences keep coming back to it.

Performing Romeo and Juliet in English can make a big difference today. Because the opera is built around close, emotional conversations, understanding the words right away helps the drama land more strongly. Singing it in English also reconnects the opera with Shakespeare’s original language, making the story feel even more immediate and alive.

This opera is still relevant because the story is. Two young people trapped by old grudges, rigid rules, and poor communication feels painfully familiar in today’s world. Romeo and Juliet reminds us how love can challenge hate — and how devastating the cost can be when society refuses to change. That emotional truth is why this opera continues to move audiences, generation after generation. Let yourself be moved by it!

A Note from the Director

by Keturah Stickann

Romeo and Juliet is one of the most recognizable stories in Western art and culture. Shakespeare’s ubiquitous version was written in 1597, and the story itself dates back even further. The story of the star-crossed lovers has been told and retold, updated, ripped apart, and put back together again. It is the ultimate tale of youth in love, and all the desperation and passion that exists within.

Gounod’s version, with a libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré, premiered in 1867 in Paris. The libretto, originally written in French but performed in an English translation by Edmund Tracey, follows the basics of Shakespeare’s play, including the five-act structure, but often departs from Shakespeare’s distinct language.

The opera also strays from the feud between the Montagues and the Capulets. It is certainly discussed, and we get one big fight scene, but Gounod leaves us without the moral at the end, which lets us sit in the tragedy of these young lovers in a unique way. My set designer, Liliana Duque Piñeiro, and I discussed early on the fact that the feud needs to come out in the setting. We wanted to give the audience a constant reminder of the two warring families and how their inability to see eye-to-eye keeps these two lovers apart needlessly.

One of the first things I noticed about Romeo and Juliet was that the two lovers can never quite reach each other, and it’s the desperation in the attempt that leads to their untimely demise. This is depicted in the dual colors of the set and the structures that never quite touch, no matter how close they get.

I’d also like to briefly mention Friar Laurence, whose interference in the lives of Romeo and Juliet leads directly to their deaths. It is the ultimate display of the road to hell being paved with good intentions, and plays directly into the families’ bloodshed, even as he fights against it. Indeed, the passions of young love are a major part of the piece, but without the moral failings of the family feud, the tragedy would fall flat.