Los Angeles.(Romeo et Juliette)(Opera Review)

If the test of a true star is the ability to make greatness out of the mediocre, Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazon are stars indeed. Gounod's Romeo et Juliette was once wildly popular, a repertory staple in the world's great opera houses; today, although its music still sounds elegant, lively and pleasingly emotional (if occasionally maudlin), the opera itself has not stood the test of time. Romeo lacks the dramatic compactness, thematic rigor and sustained passion of the best nineteenth-century works. But in Los Angeles Opera's new production (seen February 3), Netrebko and Villazon persuaded us otherwise. In their hands, sentimentality was transformed into tragedy It is difficult to imagine a more persuasive argument for Romeo et Juliette than their deeply poignant performances.

Netrebko and Villazon know how to exploit their considerable physical graces to the fullest effect; they have voices of exceptional clarity with almost flawless technique, tackling both lyrical and dramatic passages with assurance--and they can act! Gounod's not especially interesting protagonists are passive receptors rather than active initiators of passion, but Netrebko and Villazon had read their Shakespeare and gave us lovers who were playful, infatuated, humorous, spilling over with desire. Their chemistry was electrifying, their tryst in the bedroom the most effectively erotic scene I have encountered in fifty years of operagoing. Their characters also grew, like Shakespeare's. As Juliette bade Farewell to Romeo, it was heartrendingly clear that her "Adieu, mon ame! adieu, ma vie!" referred to herself as well as him. The aria that leads to he, taking the poison (usually cut, but fortunately included in this production) allowed Netrebko to transcend the melodramatic ambience of the ...