Roméo et Juliette is that rare example of an opera where the music supersedes the drama it depicts. Charles Gounod knew that he could not improve upon the narrative of the original, focusing instead on how his composition might best reveal the emotions of the characters.
His instincts proved to be quite prescient. Even today, Romeo and Juliet is probably the best known of Shakespeare’s tales and the dialogue of the balcony scene the most often quoted.
Familiarity with the story permits the audience to concentrate on the beauty of the melodies and subtlety of the orchestration which Gounod so deftly combines in this wonderful work. Just one example, the duet “Ah! Ne fuis pas encore!” between Romeo and Juliet, where each declares their love for one another, finds the strings reinforcing Romeo’s defiance while a single oboe plaintively echoes Juliet’s resignation.
