Vincenzo Bellini. I Capuleti e i Montecchi (The Capulets and the Montagues) 16+

"For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo"… Vincenzo Bellini's rarely performed opera I Capuleti e i Montecchi is far from Shakespeare's version. Instead of a story about a tenderly blossoming first love, the libretto shows the last day in the life of two young people. The main mood of the work - touching melancholy - suddenly turns into a catastrophic whirlpool of passions.

The success of the Zurich production of the "pearl of bel canto" (critics dubbed it “mafia” because of the colorful scenery) owes much to the impeccable skill of the main performers - the young Olga Kulchinskaya and her much more experienced colleague Joyce DiDonato.

Reviews:

"The energetic, demanding and more mature sound of Joyce DiDonato's voice highlites Kulchinskaya's clear and almost instrumental soprano. The final scene in their performance literally stops the passage of time" (Neue Zürcher Zeitung)

“The mood is maintained by dim sepia-toned lighting through Venetian blinds… Modestly decorated rooms are invariably occupied by powerful men in dark suits and tuxedos that look menacing. The tension is such that you feel like a fight could break out at any moment, and it inevitably happens.” (OperaJournal)

Stage Director - Christoph Loy

Performers:

Joyce DiDonato (Romeo)

Olga Kulchinskaya (Juliet)

Benjamin Bernheim (Tebaldo)

Alexei Botnarchuk (Capellio)

Eric Anstine (Lorenzo)

Zurich Philarmonic

Choir of Zurich Opera House

Conductor - Fabio Luisi

Zurich Opera House

2015