show category: opera, Premiere

Opera in five acts, on a libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré

The Romanian National Opera in Cluj-Napoca presents the premiere of Charles Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, one of the most refined and moving operatic transpositions of Shakespeare’s tragedy. The new performances will take place on Friday, 2 October and Saturday, 3 October 2026, at 6:30 PM, bringing to the stage the story of absolute love confronted by hatred, fate, and the violence of a world unable to accept it.

Composed on a libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré, Gounod’s opera remains closely faithful to Shakespeare’s great tragedy, preserving both the dramatic thread of the play and many of its essential images and metaphors. The work was composed beginning in 1865, and its world premiere took place in Paris in 1867, where it enjoyed immediate success and quickly entered the repertoire of major European stages.

The plot follows the fate of the two young lovers from Verona, members of the rival Capulet and Montague families, whose secret love, born under the sign of prohibition and conflict, gradually turns into a tragedy of misunderstanding, sacrifice, and the impossibility of overcoming inherited hatred.

Unlike other works inspired by the story of the two lovers, Roméo et Juliette builds its dramatic force around the relationship between the two protagonists. The four great love duets form the emotional and musical centre of the opera, tracing the transformation of love from the revelation of the first encounter to the tragic intensity of the final scene. Gounod’s music gives this love a broad, lyrical, and profoundly human expression, alternating the delicacy of intimate confession with moments of great theatrical tension.

Celebrated pages such as Juliette’s waltz, “Je veux vivre”, Roméo’s cavatina, “Ah! lève-toi, soleil!”, Mercutio’s ballad, “Mab, reine des mensonges”, and the protagonists’ great duets illustrate the elegance of French vocal writing and Gounod’s ability to transform drama into a musical discourse of remarkable sensitivity. Through the beauty of its melodic line, the finesse of its orchestration, and the balance between intimacy and scenic grandeur, Roméo et Juliette remains one of the representative works of French Romantic opera.

The new production of the Romanian National Opera in Cluj-Napoca is presented under the musical direction of conductor David Crescenzi, in the directorial and scenographic vision of Arnaud Bernard. The creative team is completed by Dragoș Moldovan – assistant set designer, Iulian Dumitraș – assistant director, Pavel Jancik – fight master, Magdy Hawash – video design, and Elliott Ganga – lighting design.

A premiere about love, destiny, and the fragility of a world that does not know how to stop its own hatred.

The performance is sung in French, with Romanian surtitles.

The performance includes two intervals and ends at approximately 10:00 PM.

Recommended age: 7+