Classic story with a twist

Courtesy of ArtsBHAM

The classic saga of feuding families, star-crossed lovers and unspeakable tragedy in old Verona gets the ultimate treatment this month when Opera Birmingham takes on Charles Gounod’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet.”

Directed by theater and opera veteran Dona Vaughn of the Manhattan School of Music, the production takes place March 23 and 25 at Samford University’s Wright Center. 

The Alabama Symphony Orchestra will be conducted onstage by Steven White, whose credits include major opera companies throughout Europe and North America, including the Metropolitan Opera.

Keith Wolfe, Opera Birmingham’s general director, said the company last performed Gounod’s version, which premiered in 1867 and is considered the cream of the crop, 40 years ago. 

“Romeo and Juliet” will be staged as an intimate opera, concentrating on the two main characters and others surrounding their lives rather than political conversations.

“This will allow us to focus on the singers. There are great arias from both Juliet and Romeo, four love duets, a trio and a quartet. We have a story to tell, and this is Gounod’s way of doing that,” Wolfe said.

James Valenti, who has performed with the Metropolitan and Chicago Lyric operas, as well as companies from Sydney to Milan, returns to the role of Romeo following a 2008 appearance with Minnesota Opera.

“Gounod saw him as a mature figure,” Valenti said. “I see Romeo as a man, not as a young boy, because the role is quite dramatic. The whole thing takes place within 48 hours from the moment they meet to the moment they die, so in that short time you need to have different capacities in your voice.”

That takes stamina, he said.

“I have been coaching and working through it, so when I get to rehearsals it’s already built into my body. That’s the constant balance of being a singer — all the preparations so the muscle memory is in your body, trying to make it seem effortless,” Valenti said.

That balance between acting and singing is always in the forefront of opera singers’ mind, said soprano Melinda Whittington, who will portray Juliet.

“There are a few challenging vocal spots where the acting has to be layered on top of the singing,” said Whittington, who took first prize at the 2015 Opera Birmingham Vocal Competition. 

Dying, she says, is a regular task in many of the roles for which she has been cast.

“Recently I had a role where I didn’t die; Juliet’s going to break my streak of staying alive,” Whittington said. “A lot of times a soprano has a big moment as she’s dying, and you’re always in different body positions, but Gounod is realistic. When Juliet stabs herself, she’s articulating on one pitch, in the middle of the voice, really quiet, no big high notes. The composer has helped in that way.”

It’s the music that will count the most, Wolfe said, as the opera tragedy unfolds, so he expects a few tears from audience members, even if they already know what’s coming.

“The music is so romantic,” he said. “I know James and Melinda will put their hearts and souls into it. The ending is slightly different from the play, but they still live together forever. It’s such a classic story. It can be told in so many ways.”