Romeo and Juliet (musical)
| Musical dates | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Romeo and Juliet |
| Original title: | Roméo et Juliette, de la Haine à l'Amour |
| Original language: | French |
| Music: | Gérard Presgurvic |
| Book: | Gérard Presgurvic |
| Lyrics: | Gérard Presgurvic |
| Literary source: | The Most Excellent and Lamentable Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet |
| Premiere: | January 19, 2001 |
| Place of premiere: | Palais des congrès de Paris |
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Roméo et Juliette, de la Haine à l'Amour is the most successful musical in French to date . Text and music are by Gérard Presgurvic . Since its premiere in Paris on January 19, 2001, the musical has been seen by more than six million people around the world. At first the musical was a great success in France itself; this was followed by productions in Canada, Russia and several European cities. The German-language premiere took place on February 24, 2005 in Vienna in the Raimund Theater. Productions in Italy, Poland, Portugal, Spain, China, Japan and Korea are to follow.
content
This musical essentially reveals Shakespeare's classic story of Romeo and Juliet with only very subtle differences. The productions in the different countries are independent and differ both in content and in the musical arrangements. For example, Lord Montague is only shown in the British version. In the variations of the French, Belgians, Dutch and Russians, the personified death is introduced as an additional role, in the original French version also a poet who creates dramatic effects. Dame Capulet also has a bigger role than in Shakespeare, but mostly you can only hear her voice from the background.
Act 1
In the opening sequence (prologue / Verona), the prince, supported by the ensemble, describes the long feud between the Montagues and the Capulets, which is affecting the whole city. He decides to ban street fighting with immediate effect on pain of death. Lady Capulet and Lady Montague lament, each for themselves, about the hatred and violence that reigns in the city (The Hate). Romeo, the Montagues 'only son, and Juliet, the Capulets' daughter, on the other hand, longingly dream of love (Once).
There is great excitement among the Capulets: a ball is to take place in the evening and the nobleman Paris has asked for Juliet's hand (The marriage proposal / look forward to the wedding). In Verona Romeo romps through the streets (rulers of the world) with his best friends Mercutio and Benvolio. Alone again, Romeo describes an indefinable fear that dominates him and yet he cannot name it (fear). To cheer him up, Mercutio and Benvolio persuade him to sneak in with them at the Capulets' ball (The Ball 1). When Romeo and Juliet see each other for the first time, they fall in love without knowing who the other is (love happiness). Tybalt, Juliet's cousin, recognizes Romeo and informs her parents; Romeo and Juliet now both learn the truth about their identity from Juliet's wet nurse (Der Ball 2), while Tybalt, who also secretly loves Juliet, thinks brokenly about himself (I'm blameless).
After the ball, the lovers meet at Juliet's balcony, where they confess their love to each other (The Balcony). To seal their love, Romeo later asks Father Lorenzo to secretly marry the two, to which he agrees.
The next morning Romeo meets with Juliet's wet nurse, who is previously involved in heated discussions with Mercutio and Benvolio (We are made of flesh and blood). He tells her that the wedding is set; alone she thinks about Julia and her relationship with her (and lo and behold, she loves). The marriage of the two forms the end of the first act (love).
Act 2
The next day, Mercutio and Benvolio run into Romeo and accuse him of betraying his family and friends (you heard it). Tybalt arrives (it's time) and challenges Romeo to a duel, which Romeo refuses; Mercutio accepts the challenge (the duel). He is mortally wounded; Romeo, driven by guilt, vengeance and ardor, kills Tybalt for his part (Mercutio's death). The families join in and in their grief demand vengeance from the prince for those who have been killed (Die Rache). The prince banishes Romeo from Verona. Juliet finds out everything from her wet nurse and is torn between her love for Romeo and Tybalt. Romeo goes to Father Lorenzo because he is hoping for this advice, but even this cannot help him (Despair).
Romeo and Juliet spend their wedding night together before Romeo leaves for Mantua (The Song of the Lark). After he leaves, Julia is informed by her parents about the upcoming wedding to Paris; when she refuses, they threaten her (not long). Lord Capulet ponders the love for his daughter (My dear child). In Mantua, Romeo thinks constantly of Juliet, while in desperation she turns to Father Lorenzo for help, who develops a plan that will ultimately unite the families (without her).
Julia apparently agrees to her parents' plans; During the night, however, she takes a potion from the priest, which makes her appear dead (The Poison). It is placed in the family vault, where Romeo is supposed to find it later (Verona II). Unfortunately, however, the message from the Father does not reach Romeo. He only meets Benvolio, who, himself broken by the past events, tells him about Juliet's death (How do I tell him).
Desperate, Romeo breaks into the family crypt of the Capulets to die at the side of his lover (Romeo's death). Julia wakes up from her apparent death and sees him lying dead next to her; she takes his dagger and kills herself (Juliet's death). Father Lorenzo enters the crypt and at the sight of this begins to doubt his belief in God (why). Finally, both families come together at the tomb and reconcile (Guilty).
Note: The song "Verona II" is only sung in the German version. The French version also contains the songs “Pourquoi” (Julia), “Le pouvoir” (Prince) and “Le poète” (Julia, poet; this role does not appear in the German version).
occupation
| role | Paris | Vienna |
|---|---|---|
| Romeo | Damien Sargue | Lukas Perman |
| Julia | Cecilia Cara | Marjan Shaki |
| Mercutio | Philippe D'Avilla | Rasmus Borkowski |
| Tybalt | Tom Ross | Mark Seibert |
| Benvolio | Grégorie Baquet | Mathias Edenborn |
| Lord Capulet | Sébastian Chato | Paul Vaes |
| Lady Capulet | Isabelle Ferron | Annette Wimmer |
| Lady Montague | Eléonore Beaulieu | Zuzanna Maurery |
| Father Lorenzo | Jean-Claude Hadida | Charlie Serrano |
| The Prince | Frédéric Charter | Boris Pfeifer |
| The wet nurse | Réjane Perry | Carin Filipčić |
| Count Paris | Essai | Thomas Mülner |
In the original French version, Le Poète , La Muette and La Mort also play a role.
Songs
| Act I. | original | Act II | original |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overture (The Prince) | Overture | Have you heard (Romeo, Mercutio & Benvolio) | On dans the rue |
| Verona (The Prince) | Verone | It's time (Tybalt) | C'est le jour |
| The Hate (Lady Capulet & Lady Montague) | La haine | The Duel (Mercutio, Tybalt & Romeo) | Le duel |
| Once (Romeo & Juliet) | Un jour | Mercutio's death (Mercutio & Romeo) | Mort de Mercutio |
| The marriage proposal (Paris & Lord Capulet) | La demande en mariage | Revenge (Lord Capulet, Lady Montague, The Prince, Romeo) | La vengeance |
| Once (reprise) (Julia) | - | - | Le Pouvoir (The Prince) |
| Rulers of the world (Romeo, Benvolio & Mercutio) | Les rois du monde | Despair (The Nurse & Father Lorenzo) | Duo de désepoir |
| - | La folie (Mercutio, Benvolio & Romeo) | The Song of the Lark (Romeo and Juliet) | Le chant de l'alouette |
| The fear (Romeo) | J'ai peur | Not long (Lord Capulet, Lady Capulet, Julia, The Nurse) | Demain |
| The ball 1 (instrumental) | Le bal | My dear child (Lord Capulet) | Avoir une fille |
| Luck in love (Romeo and Juliet) | L'amour heureux | - | Porquoi (Julia) |
| The Ball 2 (instrumental) | Le bal 2 | Without her (Romeo & Juliet) | Sans elle |
| I'm blameless (Tybalt) | C'est pas ma faute | The poison (Julia) | Le poison |
| - | Le Poète (The Poet & Julia) | Verona (reprise) (The Prince) | - |
| The balcony (Romeo and Juliet) | Le balcon | How do I tell him (Benvolio) | Comment lui dire |
| - | Par amour (Father Lorenzo, Romeo & Juliet) | Romeo's death (Romeo) | Mort de Roméo |
| We're made of flesh and blood (The wet nurse, Benvolio & Mercutio) | Les beaux, les laids | Juliet's death (Julia) | La mort de Juliette |
| See because she loves (the nurse) | Et voila qu'elle aime | Why (Father Lorenzo) | J'sais plus |
| Love (Romeo & Juliet) | Aimer | Guilty (The Montagues & The Capulets) | Coupables |
Performance venues
- Palais des Congrès, Paris (January 19, 2001 to December 21, 2002)
- Théâtre St-Denis, Montreal (June 18, 2002 to September 19, 2002)
- Stadsschouwburg Theater, Antwerp (September 22, 2002 to March 16, 2003)
- Piccadilly Theater, London (November 5, 2002 to February 8, 2003)
- Budapest Operetta Theater, Budapest (since January 23, 2004)
- Nieuwe Luxor Theater, Rotterdam (since January 27, 2004)
- Moscow Operetta Theater, Moscow (2004 to June 16, 2006)
- Raimundtheater , Vienna (February 24, 2005 to July 8, 2006)
- Palais des Congrès, Paris (February 2, 2010 to April 4, 2010)
- Thunerseespiele , Thun (July 8, 2015 to August 22, 2015)