Budapest.(Romeo et Juliette)

Poor Gounod! He has been relegated to the list of "B" composers, and his sweet melodies are more often than not considered trite. But when one of his works is revived with the degree of conviction applied to Romeo et Juliette by the Hungarian State Opera, in a new production directed by tenor Denes Gulyas, one quickly remembers why Gounod was once considered one of the finest contributors to the art form.

The rambunctious, earthy spirit of John Cranko's and Kenneth MacMillan's ballet versions of the story were recalled by having principals, chorus, supers and dancers enter through the house and cross ramps spanning the orchestra pit, occasionally lingering to deliver a number face to face with the audience or from a proscenium box. Activity never ceased, except when pin spots and stop-action were employed to focus on intimate moments. Thus, "Je veux vivre" was not performed as a face-front-and-sing set piece but as a dialogue between Juliette and Gertrude, here played more as a friend than as an old nursemaid. And when the newlyweds sensuously tumbled off a bed onto a pile of pillows and eventually onto the floor, it seemed a spontaneous act of passion.

With his baby-faced good looks and smoothly produced lyric tenor redolent of the young Nicolai Gedda, Mikula Skuljak was in every way an ideal Romeo. His phrasing was as natural and elegant as his coltish, impetuous stage movement, and he easily conjured a darker, heroic quality for the role's more dramatic passages. As Juliette, Cleo Mitilineou offered secure, well-produced coloratura (including a nice trill), radiant innocence and a luxurious leggiera soprano that never strained for dramatic heft. She was nothing less than triumphant in ...