Shakespeare's lovers never looked and sounded so good as in this romantic new film ... more
adaptation of Charles Gounod's beloved opera, starring one of classical music's most popular and successful duos, Roberto Alagna and Angela Gheorghiu. A spectacular medieval castle and its surrounding countryside provide the setting for this timeless tale of warring families and star-crossed lovers. Conductor Anton Guadagno leads the Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra through the opera's best-loved arias and duets in this fresh interpretation of Gounod's masterwork.
Advantages: Dramatic irony, some exciting action. Disadvantages: Bad acting, language and setting clash together alot.
Romeo and Juliet, as we all know, is a classic tale of love and tragedy, written by William Shakespeare. The love between the two characters - in this film played by Leonardo DeCaprio and Claire Danes, is strictly forbidden and is made all the more intriguing by the fuge between the couples' two familes; the Capulets and the Montagues. In this modern version of the famous story, director Baz Luhrmann adds a special twist to mix things up a little.
The main plot of the original story is followed, with a young lady named Juliet living with her parents; the Capulets, and a man named Romeo from the Montagues. One day they meet and fall in love with each other, but because of the hate bewteen the two families, they know that if they are caught there will be huge trouble. However, their love is too strong for them to be seperated, and they ...
Advantages: Interesting to see how they make the awkward pieces fit Disadvantages: They don't always fit
This is the second review of Romeo and Juliet I've done for Ciao. The first was about Franco Zeffirelli's version starring Olivia Hussey which came out in 1968. I loved that one. This version stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Clare Danes and I was less enthusiastic.
That's not to say it isn't well done and interesting with many lavish tableaux and clever adaptations of the original story. It is. Two things got up my nose all the way through, however. Firstly, I've never been a big fan of 'messing about with Shakespeare'. By that I mean, for example, sticking Macbeth in a jeep, or Hamlet in a rocket. I like the olde worlde charm of Shakespeare to whisk me back into history and places that follow long gone rules. The olden times and how people might have dressed and behaved lend Shakespeare much of its charm. So, Othello with a mobile 'phone ...
Romeo and Juliet was written in 1595 by William Shakespeare as a play. It is classed as a tragic play, therefore involves a protagonist that has a peak in his or her life involving good fortune, but then on after good fortune turns quickly into bad, ending up in sadness and misfortune for the protagonist. All tragedies follow the same pattern, only changing the peak point and the speed of good fortune going bad. When mentioned, Shakespeare is often thought to be associated with romance and beautiful imagery, which in some cases is true, but this romance is a needle in a haystack amongst the violent, sexual, crude and malicious imagery. This is a trick that is used to make the romance stand out more, Romeo and Juliet is a very famous piece of Shakespeare's work, but is often thought to be extremely romantic and 'lovey-dovey', however ...
Product Information for "Gounod: Romeo and Juliet" »
Product details
Title
Gounod: Romeo and Juliet
Composer
Charles (François) Gounod (1818 - 1893)
Main Performer
Elizaveta Shumskaya (Soprano); Fiodor Godovkin (Tenor); Ivan Kozlovsky (Tenor); Ivan Petrov (Bass); Maxim Mikhailov (Bass)
Orchestra / Ensemble(s)
Bolshoi Theatre Chorus; Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra
Date of Release
05/01/2004
Label / Distributor
Guild / Priory Records
Pieces in Set
2
Running Time
3 hours 36 minutes
Genre(s)
Stage works
Stereo
Mono
SPAR Code
ADD
EAN
795754226522
Work 1
Work Title
Roméo et Juliette, 'Romeo and Juliet'
Excerpt(s)
1. ACT 1 - L'heure s'envoie 2. Écoutez! écoutez! 3. Allons! jeunes gens! 4. Enfin la place est libre; Mab, la reine des mensonges; Eh bien! que l'avertissment 5. Je veux vivre (Waltz) 6. Le nom de cette belle enfant?; Ange adorable 7. Quelqu'un!; Le voici 8. ACT 2 - O nuit! sous tes ailes; L'amour; Ah! lève-toi, soleil 9. Hélas! moi, le haïr! 10. O nuit divine; Ah! ne fuis pas encore 11. ACT 3 - Mon père! Dieu vous garde! 12. Dieu qui fit l'homme 13. Depuis hier je cherche en vain mon maître; Que faites-tu, blance tourterelle 14. Ah! voici nos gens! 15. Eh quoi? toujours du sang? 16. ACT 4 - Va! Je t'ai pardonné; Nuit d'hymenée!; Non, ce n'est pas le jour 17. Quoi! ma fille; Que l'hymne nuptiale 18. Mon père! tout m'accable; Buvez donc ce breuvage 19. Dieu! quel frisson court dans mes veines! 20. Cortège nuptial 21. Ma fille, cède aux voeux (Finale) 22. ACT 5 - Le sommeil de Juliette 23. Salut! tombeau sombre 24. O ma femme! O ma bien-aimée 25. A toi, ma Juliette 26. Console-toi, pauvre âme
Composer
Charles (François) Gounod (1818 - 1893)
Genre
Stage works
Date Written
1867
Conductor
Alexander Orlov
Orchestra / Ensemble
Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra
Orchestra / Ensemble
Bolshoi Theatre Chorus
Main Performer
Elizaveta Shumskaya (Soprano), Fiodor Godovkin (Tenor), Ivan Kozlovsky (Tenor), Ivan Petrov (Bass), Maxim Mikhailov (Bass), Natalia Sokolova (Soprano), Nina Ostrumova (Mezzo soprano), Sergei Koltypin (Bass)
Opera Part(s)
Elizaveta Shumskaya (Juliette), Fiodor Godovkin (Benvolio), Ivan Kozlovsky (Roméo), Ivan Petrov (Capulet), Maxim Mikhailov (Frère Laurent), Natalia Sokolova (Stéphano), Nina Ostrumova (Gertrude), Sergei Koltypin (Grégorio)
Ciao
Listed on Ciao since
16/08/2005
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