[Met Performance] CID:92410



Roméo et Juliette
Metropolitan Opera House, Mon, February 15, 1926




Roméo et Juliette (139)
Charles Gounod | Jules Barbier/Michel Carré
Roméo
Edward Johnson

Juliette
Lucrezia Bori

Frère Laurent
Léon Rothier

Stéphano
Raymonde Delaunois

Mercutio
Millo Picco

Benvolio
Max Altglass

Gertrude
Henriette Wakefield

Capulet
Adamo Didur

Tybalt
Angelo Badà

Pâris
Vincenzo Reschiglian

Grégorio
Paolo Ananian

Duke of Verona
Louis D'Angelo


Conductor
Louis Hasselmans







Review 1:

Review of W. J. Henderson in the Sun

Edward Johnson Says Farewell

Sings 'Romeo' to Miss Bori's 'Juliette' in His Final Appearance of the Season

Edward Johnson made his final appearance of the season at the Metropolitan Opera House last evening. The opera was Gounod's "Romeo et Juliette," and the fairest daughter of the Capulets was represented by Lucrezia Bori. The rest of the cast was arranged so as to provide merely a background for these two. It was not a distinguished performance of the work except in so far as they were concerned. The moonlight was good and the Verona willows were well displayed, but Capulet was not the man to intimidate any Montague and "le voix de Mercutio" was neither so wide as a church door nor so deep as a well, and it merely sufficed. Tybalt's sword did better duty.

But the audience seemed to be satisfied with the hero and heroine. Miss Bori was not in her best voice, but her Juliet was admirable. She is a vision. This gracious and glowing figure, with all the illusions of Southern girlhood bursting into the flower of womanhood, radiant of hair, lustrous of eye, supple of form and vocal with the passionate utterance of sudden love, is one of the most beautiful the Metropolitan stage has ever known. Miss Bori sang the music last night with some care, but with good tone and with intelligence as well as feeling. Rarely does any Juliette, for example, make quite so much of the despairing passage following her discovery of Romeo's identity. And she gave full poetry to the balcony scene.

Mr. Johnson's Romeo was of the first order. He sang not only the notes but the words and the meaning of the words. There was a spirit in every phrase and it was the spirit of Gounod's music. In style Mr. Johnson has no superior on the operatic stage in this country. He sings Romeo as a great French artist might sing it with all the training of the Paris Grand Opera behind him. And he brings to his impersonation a romantic bearing, grace and elegance of gesture and communicative warmth. The audience last evening was not slow to recognize the excellence of his art and he had a triumphant farewell for the season.



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