Gounod: Romeo et Juliette [Romeo and Juliet] (complete opera recorded in 2011) BLU-RAY

"[Machaidze] seems to be the Juliette of choice today and this video makes clear why that's the case: lovely singing and a demeanour that manages to be sensual and innocent at once. Secco's voice may be a tad light for Romeo if heard live, but with microphone placement being what it is, he's excellent in the role...Mastrangelo leads a big-boned, arena-sized performance, full of excitement and tension." (International Record Review)

Set design EDOARDO SANCHI

Costumes SILVIA AYMONINO

Choreography NIKOS LAGOUSAKOS

Lighting PAOLO MAZZON

Here from the iconic Verona arena is Charles Gounod's masterpiece Roméo & Juliette, performed there for the first time since 1977. This new production was entrusted to Italian director Francesco Micheli, making his arena debut, who opted for a personal, highly original version: "An arena within the Arena, like a blood-red Elizabethan theatre. A senescent world that will not let its own children live."

Juliette is sung by Georgian soprano Nino Machaidze, in a return to one of her early roles at the Salzburg Festival. Stefano Secco, often heard at the Opéra Bastille in Paris and other international venues, is Roméo. Artur Rucinski interprets Mercutio, Romeo's friend and the rival of Jean-François Borras's Tybalt. The page Stéphano is sung by soprano Ketevan Kemoklidze. The Orchestra and Chorus of the Arena di Verona are conducted by Fabio Mastrangelo.