Metropolitan Opera – Gounod’s Romeo et Juliette. April 23, 2018.

Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center.  Orchestra (Seat W31, $25).

Story.  See previous blog.

Program

Placido Domingo – conductor. Tybalt – Bogdan Volkov, Paris – Bradley Garvin, Capulet – Laurent Naouri, Juliette – Ailyn Perez, Mercutio – Joshua Hopkins, Romeo – Andrea Shin, Gertrude – Maria Zifchak, Gregorio – Jeongcheol Cha, Frere Laurent – Kwangchul Youn, Stephano – Karine Deshayes, Benvolio – Tony Stevenson, The Duke of Verona – Kevin Short.

Let’s jump to the conclusion first.  I had seen this opera last year, the first time this production was used, and tonight’s performance was nowhere near the level of what I experienced last year (even though I was not feeling well, per the blog entry.)  Perez and Shin as Romeo and Juliette were no match for Diana Damrau and Vittorio Grigolo.  But then that would be a difficult pair to match for anyone.

Lest one thinks I am biased by “big names,” I had forgotten that I had seen this last year.  Either my memory is really going, or it was because I wasn’t well.  My reservations on how the night went were formed before I searched through my blog at intermission. Well, I was quite sure I had seen something similar by the middle of Act 1.  (There was also a Prologue where the chorus did some narration.)

In the Playbill there was this “dreaded” slip of paper saying Andrea Shin would sing the role of Romeo, and that this would be his Met debut.  I don’t know the in’s and out’s, but I do remember when I looked at the Met website on Monday (day of performance) Bryan Hymel would be Romeo for all dates; if you look now, it would say Shin for April 23, and the rest of the performances would be by a Charles Castronovo.  A last minute substitute, no doubt.

If you make all the allowances for Shin, this would be a competent performance.  His voice was pleasant enough, but didn’t have the stamina or emotional range to go the distance.  To my ears he sounded tentative at the beginning, was okay by the end of the first half, but faded towards the end.  These breakthrough opportunities don’t come that often, and I am afraid he might not have made full use of it.  The acting was a bit stiff also, thus eliciting a muted emotional response, at least for me.

Perez had her Met debut in 2015, and sings three roles in this current Met season.  This was the first time I encountered her.  The right word would be “adequate.”  She was also shaky at the beginning, but improved as the performance progressed.

There were a few things in the Playbill that I didn’t catch last time.  One was how the opera centers around the four duets (first meeting, balcony, goodbye, and tomb, if I recall correctly).  While I don’t dispute that, many of the solos were quite spectacular also.  The most well-known tune is “je veux vivre.”  Perez did well in the articulation, and impressive in her control.  However, she didn’t come across as particularly happy during the rendition.

Domingo seems to show up more regularly at the Met these days.  We just saw him as Miller in Luisa Miller earlier this season, and as the conductor tonight he was quite effective: the orchestra had a range of colors that changed with the action on stage.  He was bent over quite a bit, I hope his back holds.

A couple of remarks about the set.  As I said in the last blog entry, it wasn’t elaborate.  I distinctly remember Grigolo climbing up the walls, and Shin didn’t do it.  Also, the use of the large sheet was a bit more clever last time; that may be I remember things wrong, though.

Three of the characters tonight were played by Korean singers.  As the lady behind me said, they must have an excellent voice training program in that country.

In any case, the opera was well attended (this was opening night), and the audience applauded heartily for both Shin and Domingo.

After seeing it last year, I told myself I should study the opera a bit more the next time I get to see it.  Well, I didn't ...

A rather blurry photo of the cast and conductor at curtain call.  The view from the balcony was much better.

Yi-heng took her children to see the fishermen at the beach, so she gave me a ride to Lincoln Center.  Dinner was "lamb over salad" at an outdoor bench.  It was past midnight when I got back to South Amboy.