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Nocturnal atmospheres, suicide or murder by poison, political rivalries and the violence they engender: romantic opera drew heavily from Shakespeare’s repertoire for the scenes and themes that captivated 19th-century audiences. All these ingredients are found in the story of Romeo and Juliet, which Vincenzo Bellini adapted in 1830 as I Capuleti e I Montecchi for La Fenice in Venice, with a libretto by Felice Romani. Inspired by Shakespeare’s Italian predecessors including Matteo Bandello, the composer plunges us into the heart of Machiavellian political struggles as the backdrop for a deeply moving and little-known scene between the two lovers after their poisoning.
Bellini already demonstrates dazzling maturity, reaching the pinnacle of vocal subtlety in the duets between Romeo and Juliet. A genius of melody and bel canto endorsed by Rossini and regarded as Verdi’s only potential rival, Bellini died tragically at the age of just 34. He nonetheless left us – before Norma and its Casta Diva aria – this transfiguration of the immortal tale of love and death, embodied by deeply endearing characters and set to sublime, tender music.
For his Swiss directorial debut, British Shakespeare specialist Joe Hill-Gibbins will bring Bellini’s vision of the lovers of Verona to life through the lens of current political events. At the helm of the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, promising, talented Italian conductor Diego Ceretta will also be making his Swiss debut.
Premiere on March 11, 1830, at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice
Casa Ricordi Editions, Milan,
critical edition by Claudio Toscani, Venice 1830
Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne
Opéra de Lausanne Choir
Choir Director Jacopo Facchini
Lausanne-based soprano Marie Lys trained at the Haute école de musique de Lausanne and then at the Royal College of Music in London. First prize winner at the Cesti Baroque Opera Competition (2018) and the Vincenzo Bellini Belcanto Competition (2017), she has collaborated with renowned conductors such as Diego Fasolis, Christophe Rousset, Fabio Biondi, Leonardo García Alarcón, Emmanuelle Haïm and Michel Corboz. She has also performed with orchestras such as Europa Galante, Les Talens Lyriques, Sinfonia Varsovia, The English Concert, the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, the Cameristi della Scala and Les Musiciens du Prince-Monaco. She has sung the roles of Ginevra (Ariodante) and Adelaide (Lotario) at the Handel Festival in Göttingen, Dorinda (Orlando) at the Castell Festival in Peralada, Servilia (La clemenza di Tito), Yniold (Pelléas et Mélisande) and Clorinda (La Cenerentola) at the Grand Théâtre de Genève, and recently replaced Cecilia Bartoli at the last minute in the title role of Handel’s Alcina at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. She has played the role of Bellezza in Handel’s Il trionfo del tempo e del disinganno alongside Biondi in Granada, and the title role in Donizetti’s Betly for the Chopin and His Europe Festival in Warsaw. She will soon appear in Vivaldi’s Tamerlano during an Italian tour conducted by Ottavio Dantone, as well as in Lully’s Thésée at the Theater an der Wien, at the Bozar in Brussels and at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées under the baton of Christophe Rousset. Marie was supported in her debut by the Migros Culture Percentage and the Leenaards, Dénéréaz, Colette Mosetti and Friedl Wald, Samling, Drake Calleja Trust and Josephine Baker Trust foundations.
At the Opéra de Lausanne: Orlando paladino (2017), La sonnambula (2018), Die Fledermaus (2018), Orpheus and Eurydice (2019), Alcina (2022) and Candide (2022).
After a flute diploma, Marina Viotti tried her hand at jazz, gospel, heavy metal and, with a diploma of high literary studies (hypokhâgnes) in her pocket, moved to Vienna to begin studying opera singing with Heidi Brunner in 2011. In 2013, she joins Brigitte Balleys’ class at the HEMU, where she obtains a master’s degree as a soloist. She then perfected her skills in belcanto with Raúl Gimenez in Barcelona. Elected in 2019 “Best young singer of the year” at the International Opera Awards, she won numerous prizes in different competitions: finalist of the Operalia competition in 2018, 3rd prize of the Geneva Competition in 2016, 1st prize of the Kattenburg competition in Lausanne in 2017, international belcanto prize at the Rossini Festival in Wildbad in 2015.
Her important operatic roles include: Rosina (Il barbiere di Siviglia) at the Bolshoi, Mélibéa (Il viaggio a Reims) and Nicklausse/La Muse (Les contes d’Hoffmann) at the Liceu in Barcelona; Arsace (Aureliano in Palmira) and Isabella (L’Italiana in Algeri) at the Rossini Festival in Wildbad and then at the Lucerne Theatre, where she also sang the Grand Duchess of Gerolstein and Elisabetta (Marie Stuart); Stéphano (Romeo and Juliet) at La Scala, Rosina and Olga (Eugene Onegin) at the Rhine Opera; Maddalena (Rigoletto) at the Opernhaus in Zurich and at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich. She was also a member of the Young Soloists of the Grand Théâtre de Genève for two years. Eager to explore other avenues and to bring genres and people together, Marina Viotti creates projects that call upon the lyrical repertoire as well as cabaret, jazz and song.
At the Opéra de Lausanne: Die Zauberflöte (2015), Amahl et les visiteurs du soir (2017), “Music has no borders” (2020 – concert).
Julien Dran discovered singing thanks to his parents, themselves both opera singers. He studied at the Conservatoire de Bordeaux and the CNIPAL in Marseille. After graduating from the latter, he was quickly engaged to sing increasingly important roles such as Count Almaviva (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Ferrando (Così fan tutte), Fenton (Falstaff), Tebaldo (I Capuleti e i Montecchi). He won the Concours international Gayarre in Pamplona under the presidency of Teresa Berganza in 2013 and, in the same year, the Prix de l’Opéra de Paris at the Salle Gaveau in the male singer category. He has performed in France and abroad in Les Pêcheurs de perles, Fra Diavolo (where he played the title role), L’italiana in Algeri (Lindoro), Béatrice et Bénédict (Benedict) and Carlotta ou la Vaticane (Tiberius), a world premiere by Dominique Gesseney-Rappo at the Opéra de Fribourg. Among the highlights of his last seasons: Belmonte (Die Entführung aus dem Serail) in Marseille, Nemorino (L’elisir d’amore) in Quebec, the title role in Gounod’s Faust and Alfredo (La traviata) at the opera houses of Marseille, Toulouse, Vichy and Limoges, the Viceroy of Naples in the world premiere of Marc-André Dalbavie’s Le Soulier de satin at the Opéra Bastille and Mireille at the Opéra de Metz.
At the Opéra de Lausanne: La Belle Hélène (2019), L’Auberge du Cheval-Blanc (2021) and My Fair Lady (2022).