Opera “Romeo and Juliet”

From 27 May to 13 June, the stage of the Teatro Real de Madrid will host Charles Gounod’s opera «Romeo y Julieta», a musical interpretation of Shakespeare’s tragedy in five acts, staged by Thomas Jolly and conducted by Carlo Rizzi.

The production features an international cast of soloists: Nadine Sierra, Javier Camarena, Ismael Jordi, Laurent Naouri and other performers. The libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré, created in the second half of the 19th century and premiered in Paris in 1867, brings the story back to its emotional core: love arising amid an old feud.

The action takes place in Verona, where Romeo and Juliet—members of two feuding families, the Montagues and the Capulets—meet and soon find themselves caught up in a feeling they must conceal. The secret marriage, attempts to maintain a fragile balance and a chain of mistakes gradually lead the story towards a tragic ending.

In the opera, the lovers’ duets play a special role: it is through them that the inner rhythm of this story is revealed. Among the most recognisable episodes is Juliet’s aria «Je veux vivre…», which has become one of the work’s key musical themes.

Thomas Jolly’s production brings one of Gounod’s most popular operas back to the Teatro Real stage, offering a vision of Shakespeare’s familiar plot through music in which the emotions resonate as intensely as the drama itself.