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Italian opera of the bel canto period (earlier 1800s) had almost as many conventions as the opera seria of a century earlier, yet the leading works of Rossini, Bellini, and Donizetti have remained as repertoire staples. There are many reasons why other works of these prolific composers are less often heard; in the case of Vincenzo Bellini's I Capuleti e i Montecchi (The Capulets and the Montagues, 1830), it may have to do with the fact that he was working from a different Italian source from Shakespeare's, so the plot does not follow the more familiar story; it is a claustrophobic opera almost entirely without spectacle. Audiences may also find it difficult to accept a mezzo-soprano hero. In his 2015 production in Zurich, director Christof Loy makes a strength of these limitations, by showing Juliet as the psychological prisoner of her wealthy father, and the ardent but still very young Romeo ultimately unable to liberate her.

This week's handout (links above) contains a synopsis of the opera. If you want to get a sample in advance, watch and listen to Romeo's beautiful farewell to Juliet before taking poison in the tomb scene; the singer is Karine Deshayes in Robert Carsen's 2014 production for Paris, not the one we are going to see. There is also a trailer for the Zurich production that we shall watch.

Handout (flat) Handout (folded) Class Script

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The Zurich production is available complete only on DVD, but there is a trailer and two excerpts, one of which is the Romeo/Tebaldo scene we skipped over in class; neither has titles. I also add a review of this production and the director's notes from the DVD. There are other productions online, but most are blurred or have poor sound, except the Romeo arietta in the tomb scene from the Paris 2014 production that I suggested as a preview, and an almost complete production from Wexford in 2021.

This Wexford production is an interesting resource. It is very well sung by young artists, and sensibly staged. As the only reasonably complete Capuleti with English titles, it will give you a very good understanding of the score. But it was clearly made under COVID restrictions, with very simple sets, a piano quintet rather than a full orchestra in the pit, and most importantly almost no chorus; as a result, it does get a bit boring. It demonstrated very clearly to me how brilliantly Christof Loy transformed the opera in Zurich by just those elements that are lacking in Wexford: chorus, sets, and concept!

As a curiosity, I also include links to excerpts of Giulietta e Romeo by Niccola Vaccai, who first used the libretto later set in shortened form by Bellini. These include the final section of the tomb scene which for years was regularly substituted for Bellini's own ending.

I CAPULETI E I MONTECCHI
	Zurich 2015	Trailer Romeo's first aria, Act I (as seen in class) Romeo/Tebaldo scene, Act II Director's notes (Christof Loy, from DVD notes) Review (from an opera blog)
	Paris 2014	Romeo in the final scene (Karine Deshayes)
	Wexford 2021	Complete(ish) performance (with titles, but simplified)

GIULIETTA E ROMEO
	Opera by Vaccai	Trailer Romeo's first aria, Act I Tomb scene, Act II (with titles; sometimes substituted for the Bellini)


IMAGES
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