The story of Romeo and Juliet, who pay for their passion with their lives, has been interpreted in the widest variety of literary and musical genres ever since the Renaissance. Vincenzo Bellini's much too rarely staged Romeo and Juliet opera, I Capuleti e i Montecchi, is far removed from Shakespeare's version: rather than telling the story of a tenderly burgeoning love, the piece is an account of the last 24 hours in the two young people's lives. The underlying mood of the piece is thus one of melancholy - which then develops into a catastrophic maelstrom. The première of the thrilling Zurich production of this bel canto gem, directed by Christof Loy and conducted by Fabio Luisi, was enthusiastically received by critics and audiences alike. The two protagonists also met with acclaim: experience world star Joyce DiDonato in the trouser role of Romeo, with the young Ukrainia soprano Olga Kulchynska at her side as Giulietta.

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This is an excellent version of one of the greatest of all comic operas, featuring superb singing an...

The sensational hit of Salzburg's 2008 festival season arrives on DVD! Starring tenor Rolando Villaz...

While best known today for having composed the ending to Puccini's unfinished Turandot, Franco Alfan...

This production is a gala affair; the sets are traditional (evocative of 18th-19th century Spain); t...

The delightful light operatic farce by Johann Strauss is presented at the Morbisch Lake Festival (Se...

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This performance of the Richard Wagner opera Logengrin was filmed in high definition for the Bayreut...

This performance of the Richard Strauss opera Frau ohne Schatten, recorded live and in high definiti...

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Claudio Monteverdi's operatic adaptation of this story from Homer's The Odyssey receives a modern an...