A love so passionate. So poetic. So forbidden.
Two feuding families rule Verona, with the Montagues and Capulets each determined to write their victory in blood. A chance meeting between Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet sparks a forbidden romance. But it wouldn’t be a Shakespearean tragedy without...well...tragedy.
Famed Venezuelan conductor Domingo Hindoyan and our very own Resident Conductor Lina González-Granados lead Gounod’s romantic score, studded with one gorgeous love duet after another. Rising stars Amina Edris and Duke Kim make their house debuts as opera’s favorite star-crossed lovers, with Justin Austin in his company debut as Mercutio and company favorite Craig Colclough as Lord Capulet. Enter a sensuous, elegant world of vengeful duels and young love as this fan favorite returns to LA Opera for the first time since 2011.
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“[Amina] Edris took command of the stage... the portrait of a young girl full of life, ready to fall in love”
Cast
- Romeo
- Duke Kim
- Juliet
- Amina Edris
- Mercutio
- Justin Austin
- Lord Capulet
- Craig Colclough
- Friar Laurence
- Wei Wu
Duke Kim
Romeo
From: Seoul, South Korea. LA Opera: Romeo in Romeo and Juliet (2024, debut).
Tenor Duke Kim is a grand finals winner of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition (2021), and a recent graduate of the Cafritz Young Artist Program at the Washington National Opera.
His engagements for the 2023/24 season include debuts with Irish National Opera and Berkshire Opera Festival in Faust (title role), Pittsburgh Opera in La Traviata (Alfredo), returns to Washington National Opera for Roméo et Juliette (Roméo), and Seattle Opera and Des Moines Metro Opera for The Barber of Seville (Count Almaviva). Concert engagements include his South American debut at Teatro Colón in Messiah, a solo recital at the Korean Music Association and a duet recital with mezzo-soprano Taylor Raven at Seattle Opera.
In the 2022/23 season he made debuts with Seattle Opera in La Traviata (Alfredo); the Glimmerglass Festival, Florentine Opera and Opera San Antonio in Roméo et Juliette (Roméo); Atlanta Opera in Don Giovanni (Don Ottavio); and returned to Palm Beach Opera for Così fan tutte (Ferrando). On the concert stage he debuted with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra in Messiah.
2021/22 engagements included Come Home: A Celebration of Return (soloist), Carmen (Le Remendado), and a workshop of Jeanine Tesori’s new opera Grounded (Eric) at Washington National Opera. He also returned to Palm Beach Opera for The Merry Widow (Count Camille de Rosillon) and gave a solo recital with pianist Kyle Naig in Myrtle Beach, NC. On the concert stage he debuted with the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Noseda in Handel's Messiah, Mozart's Requiem and Eine kleine Freimaurer-Kantate and Bach's Magnificat, the Santa Fe Symphony for A Night at the Opera, and Grant Park Music Festival in Haydn's Creation. In the summer, he attended the Académie du Festival Aix-en-Provence.
In the 2020/21 season, Duke returned to Santa Fe Opera as an Apprentice Artist, where he performed in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Lysander), covered Lensky in Eugene Onegin and appeared as a guest soloist for Angel Blue in Concert (Act IV duet from La Bohème). Additional artist training programs include Wolf Trap Opera’s Studio Program and Palm Beach Opera‘s Benenson Young Artist Program.
He is a graduate of Chapman University and the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. During his studies, he performed in L’elisir d’amore (Nemorino), Gianni Schicchi (Rinuccio), Little Women (Laurie), and La Finta Giardiniera (Count Belfiore). Additional concert repertoire includes Mendelssohn's Elijah and Saint-Saëns' Oratorio de Noël.
Learn more at DukeKimTenor.com.
Amina Edris
Juliet
From: Cairo, Egypt. LA Opera: Juliet in Romeo and Juliet (2024, debut).
Soprano Amina Edris has been hailed as a “revelation” (Forum Opera) and praised for her “lustrous” tone (Opera News). Born in Egypt and raised in New Zealand, she has blended her cultural background to create her own unique artistic identity, performing a variety of roles ranging from baroque music to world premieres with a focus on French repertoire. Recent career highlights include Manon and Juliette at the Opéra National de Paris, Cleopatra in the world premiere of John Adams’ Antony and Cleopatra at San Francisco Opera, and Alice in the acclaimed recording of Meyerbeer’s Robert le Diable.
Amina’s 2023/24 season includes five role debuts and several house debuts. She begins her season with a return to the Canadian Opera Company where she debuts the role of Mimi in La Bohème. She continues with three more role debuts: Liu in Turandot at Teatro di San Carlo, and the title role of Thaïs at Opéra de Toulon, and Beatriz in The Exterminating Angel by Thomas Adès at Opéra National de Paris. In the spring, she embarks on a recital tour of North America alongside tenor Pene Pati and pianist Robert Mollicone, and on the concert stage, she performs Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 for the first time with the Philharmonie Luxembourg. She concludes her season with a final role and house debut, as Caroline (Rosalinde) in Die Fledermaus at Opéra de Lille, performed in French.
Learn more at AminaEdris.com.
Justin Austin
Mercutio
From: Stuttgart, Germany. LA Opera: soloist in the online recital Songs of Protest (2021); Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet (2024, mainstage debut); Guglielmo in Così fan tutte (2025).
Praised in Opera News as “a gentle actor and elegant musician” and in The Wall Street Journal for his "mellifluous baritone," baritone Justin Austin has been performing professionally since the age of four. Born in Stuttgart, Germany, to professional opera singer parents, Mr. Austin began his singing career as a boy soprano performing at venues such as Teatro Real, Bregenzer Festspiele, Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. While working with directors such as Götz Friedrich and Tazewell Thompson, he was able to realize early on his love for music and performance.
In the 2022/23 season, as the 2023 Marian Anderson Vocal Award winner, Justin is featured in recital at the Kennedy Center, presented by Washington National Opera. He also gives solo recitals at Carnegie Hall, Pickman Hall with the Celebrity Series of Boston, and Spivey Hall in Atlanta this season. On the operatic stage he makes a return to Lyric Opera of Chicago, starring as Young Emile in Terence Blanchard’s Champion; Washington National Opera’s production of Romeo and Juliet, portraying Mercutio at the Kennedy Center; Opera Theatre of Saint Louis in The Barber of Seville, playing Figaro; and the Metropolitan Opera in Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking. Justin also joins Des Moines Metro Opera for the world premiere of Damien Geter’s full-length American Apollo; stars in the New York premiere of Lyric Fest’s COTTON, composed by Damien Geter, at the 92nd Street Y; and performs in two renditions of Fire Shut Up In My Bones: Opera Suite in Concert at the Kimmel Center and then with Strathmore and Washington Performing Arts.
In the 2022/23 season, Mr. Austin returned to the Metropolitan Opera as Ned Keene in Peter Grimes before singing Carl Nielsen’s third symphony with the Cleveland Orchestra conducted by Alan Gilbert. He performed in a concert tour of Our Song, Our Story, a tribute recital to African American operatic pioneers Jessye Norman and Marian Anderson, with music director Damien Sneed, giving performances in Tucson, St. Louis, Washington D.C., Akron, and Aspen. He premiered Damien Geter’s song cycle Cotton alongside Denyce Graves with Lyric Fest in Philadelphia and Washington Performing Arts at the Kennedy Center, and premiered a new edition by Damien Sneed of Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis in the roles of Scott Joplin/Remus.
During the 2021/22 season, Mr. Austin made his house debut at the Metropolitan Opera as Marcellus in the company premiere of Brett Dean’s Hamlet, while also covering the leading role of Charles Blow in Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up In My Bones. He joined Lyric Opera of Chicago covering the role of Riolobo in Daniel Catán’s Florencia en el Amazonas, also making his house and role debuts as Charles in Fire Shut Up In My Bones, replacing an ill colleague within a few days notice. He starred as George Armstrong in Lynn Nottage’s and Ricky Ian Gordon’s Intimate Apparel at Lincoln Center, and joined Des Moines Metro Opera as Thomas McKeller in Damien Geter and Lila Palmer’s American Apollo. In addition, he returned to Carnegie Hall as the title role in Mendelssohn’s Elijah with the Oratorio Society of New York, joined the New York Festival of Song for their debut concert at Little Island in New York City, joined the Cecilia Chorus at Carnegie Hall as the baritone soloist in Margaret Bonds’ Ballad of the Brown King, and presented a solo recital at the Park Avenue Armory with pianist Howard Watkins.
In the 2020/21 season, Mr. Austin was featured in concert with the Metropolitan Opera, Mistral Music, Glimmerglass Festival, Opera Maine, Voices of Ascension, Moab Music Festival, and New York Festival of Song. He also starred as Captain Macheath in a film adaptation of Weill’s The Threepenny Opera produced by City Lyric Opera, made his debut at Washington National Opera as Thomas McKeller in the world premiere of American Apollo by Damien Geter and Lila Palmer, and debuted at the Bard SummerScape Festival as Mordred in Chausson’s Le roi Arthus. In recital, he made debuts with Los Angeles Opera, the Hamburg International Music Festival, Lakes Area Music Festival, and Opera Saratoga, while also joining IDAGIO for online concerts at the Global Concert Hall. Mr. Austin had also been scheduled to join the Metropolitan Opera for his house debut in Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking, directed by Ivo van Hove and conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and to perform The Novice’s Friend in John Dexter’s production of Billy Budd.
In the 2019/20 season, Mr. Austin made his return to the New York Festival of Song at the Kaufmann Music Center, sang the leading role of Older Jim in Tom Cipullo’s Glory Denied at the Penn Square Music Festival, and joined the principal roster of the Metropolitan Opera in their new production of Porgy and Bess, directed by James Robinson. He had been scheduled to return to the Bayrerische Staatsoper for his role debut as Mel in Michael Tippett’s The Knot Garden and as Bello in the revival of Andreas Dresen’s production of La fanciualla del West.
Highlights of previous seasons include solo debuts at Carnegie Hall, the Glimmerglass Festival, the Strathmore Music Center, and with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Copland House, Bayerische Staatsoper, and Lincoln Center. In the 2017/18 season, Mr. Austin was a Resident Artist at Opera Theatre of St. Louis, and during the summer of 2018, remained with the company as a solo artist, featured in concert, recital, and on the mainstage singing the role of Cal in the award-winning production of Marc Blitzstein’s Regina, directed by James Robinson and conducted by Stephen Lord. During the summer of 2016, Mr. Austin created the role of Pyarelel Kaul in the critically acclaimed world premiere of Jack Perla’s and Rajiv Joseph’s Shalimar the Clown at Opera Theatre of St. Louis, and more recently was featured in the same role on the commercial recording of the work released in 2018.
As a multifaceted musician, Mr. Austin performs a wide range of repertoire, from jazz, R&B, and musical theater, to opera and oratorio. He has collaborated with multiple groups and artists such as Aretha Franklin, The Boys Choir of Harlem, Mary J. Blidge, Elton John, Lauryn Hill, The Roots, 30 Seconds to Mars, John Cale, Ricky Ian Gordon, Damien Sneed, Kanye West, and jazz legends Reggie Workman, Hugh Masekela and Wynton Marsalis.
Mr. Austin strongly believes in utilizing his artistry to benefit music programs, new music projects, and community services around the world. In order to accomplish this, he works with organizations such as MEND (Meeting Emergency Needs with Dignity), QSAC (Quality Services for the Autism Community), Holt International, and St. Mary's Children's Hospital to construct and perform benefit concerts. The proceeds of these projects supply emergent living essentials to those in need. Inspired by the importance of new music and collaboration, Mr. Austin has performed and recorded operatic, song, and oratorio world premieres by Wynton Marsalis, Avner Finberg, M. Roger Holland, Jack Perla, Peter Andreacchi, Damien Sneed, Odeline de la Martinez, and Ricky Ian Gordon.
Justin Austin is a proud graduate of the Choir Academy of Harlem, LaGuardia Arts, Heidelberg Lied Akademie, and the Manhattan School of Music, having earned Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees. Among his accolades are awards from organizations such as The Recording Academy, NAACP, the George London Foundation, Opera Ebony, the Gerda Lissner Foundation, the Manhattan School of Music, NANM, the Choir Academy of Harlem, and LaGuardia Arts. He is under the tutelage and mentorship of Catherine Malfitano.
Learn more at Justin-Austin.com.
Craig Colclough
Lord Capulet
From: Claremont, California. LA Opera: Guccio in Gianni Schicchi (2008, debut); 12 roles to date including Monterone in Rigoletto (2018); Father in Hansel and Gretel (2018); Figaro in The Marriage of Figaro (2022); Leporello in Don Giovanni (2023); Capulet in Romeo and Juliet (2024). He is a 2021 recipient of the Eva and Marc Stern Artist Award.
Bass-baritone Craig Colclough initially studied as a cellist and eventually attended the University of Redlands in California. Before training with Wolf Trap Opera and Florida Grand Opera, he began his career appearing in several roles with LA Opera. The company awarded him the Eva and Marc Stern Artist Award during the 2020/21 season, celebrating artists with deep connections to LA Opera.
Verdi’s Macbeth has become a signature role, serving as Colclough’s debut at the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Bayerische Staatsoper and Luxembourg Opera. 2022 saw his return to the Royal Opera House Covent Gardens where he reprised his role as Telramund in Wagner’s Lohengrin. Colclough is currently building the character of Alberich under the direction of Brigitte Fassbaender for the Tiroler Festspiele in Austria. Having debuted Alberich in her 2021 Rheingold to great acclaim, Colclough will complete the cycle in 2024.
The 2022/23 season saw Colclough as Figaro in The Marriage of Figaro at LA Opera, Sharpless in Madama Butterfly at the Atlanta Opera with continued appearances as Monterone in Rigoletto at the Metropolitan Opera. The 2018/19 season included appearances as Peter in Hansel and Gretel at LA Opera, Fra Melitone in La Forza del Destino for his company debut with Oper Fankfurt, as well as the Storyteller in A Flowering Tree for his company debut with Opera Queensland. During the summer, he returned to the title role of Don Pasquale with the Berkshire Opera Festival.
A house favorite with Belgium’s Opera Vlaanderen, he has appeared with the company as Telramund, Kurwenal, Macbeth and the title role of Falstaff, in a production directed by Oscar-winning actor Christoph Waltz.
Known for his versatility, Craig Colclough has appeared as Peter Vogel in Korngold's Der Ring des Polykrates with the Dallas Opera; Hare in the world premiere of Burke and Hare with Boston Lyric Opera; Pistola in Falstaff with the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; and Doristo in L’arbore di Diana with Minnesota Opera.
He has collaborated with acclaimed conductor Gustavo Dudamel for performances of Timur in Turandot with the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Additional credits include the Israeli Symphony Orchestra, California Philharmonic, Capitol Records, Abbey Road Studios and the soundtrack of the film Rolled.
Learn more at CraigColclough.com.
Wei Wu
Friar Laurence
From: Beijing, China. LA Opera: Angelotti in Tosca (2022, debut).
Grammy Award-winning bass Wei Wu trained at Washington National Opera’s Cafritz Young Artist Program, the People’s University of China, Beijing, and the University of Colorado at Boulder, who recently presented him with the Kalpana Chawla Outstanding Recent Graduate Award.
The bass’s 2023/24 season holds two exciting house debuts: first, he brings his celebrated interpretation of Kōbun in The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs by Mason Bates to San Francisco Opera. He then makes his house and role debut as Zuniga in a new production of Carmen with the Metropolitan Opera.
Recent engagements for Wei Wu include his debut with LA Opera as Angelotti in Tosca; Frère Laurent in Roméo et Juliette at Central City Opera; Sparafucile in Rigoletto with Opera Philadelphia; Hunding in Act 1 of Die Walküre with New Orleans Opera; Marv Carson in Kristin Kuster's A Thousand Acres (world premiere) and Snug the Joiner A Midsummer Night’s Dream, both for Des Moines Metro Opera; and performances of Kōbun with Calgary Opera, Utah Opera, Austin Opera and Lyric Opera of Kansas City.
Mr. Wu bowed as Kōbun in the world premiere performances of The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs at Santa Fe Opera, and appears on the cast live recording, which was released by Pentatone and won Best Opera Recording at the 2019 Grammy Awards. His notable operatic engagements include Sarastro (The Magic Flute), Don Basilio (The Barber of Seville), Colline (La Bohème) and Lodovico (Otello) with Washington National Opera; Arnold “Chick” Gandil in the world premiere of Joel Puckett’s The Fix with Minnesota Opera; the Four Villains (The Tales of Hoffmann), Don Basilio and the Old Hebrew (Samson et Dalila) at the NCPA Beijing, Timur (Turandot) and Father Trulove (The Rake’s Progress) with Pittsburgh Opera, the Nephew in Garrett Fisher's Blood Moon with the Prototype Festival, and Phanuel (Hérodiade) as well as the Ghost of Nino (Semiramide) with Washington Concert Opera.
On the symphonic stage, he has performed with the Pittsburgh Symphony as Rocco in Fidelio and with the Kansas City Symphony for Mozart’s Requiem. He has sung Verdi’s Requiem with the Orchestra Now and the West Virginia Symphony.
Learn more at WeiWuBass.com.
Creative Team
- Conductor
- Domingo Hindoyan
- Conductor (Nov 20-23)
- Lina González-Granados
- Original Production
- Ian Judge
- Scenery
- John Gunter
- Costumes
- Tim Goodchild
- Chorus
- Jeremy Frank
Domingo Hindoyan
Conductor
From: Caracas, Venezuela. LA Opera: Romeo and Juliet (2024, debut).
Domingo Hindoyan is the chief conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and is one of today’s most exciting and celebrated conductors. He also holds the position of principal guest conductor of the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra.
During his first season in Liverpool, Hindoyan opened his tenure with a critically acclaimed conducting debut at the BBC Proms, after which he embarked upon various recording projects, the first of which was released in September 2022, and conducted a huge range of orchestral music. He also collaborated with Liverpool’s well established "In Harmony" educational program and will continue to demonstrate his commitment to new music with various world premieres and commissions.
Hindoyan enjoys a vibrant career leading acclaimed ensembles and orchestras around the world including the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Dresdner Philharmonie, New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, and Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra. He has also conducted concerts and operas at many renowned festivals, such as the Menuhin Festival Gstaad and as a regular guest at the Festival Radio France Occitanie Montpellier.
Highlights of the 2022/23 season and beyond include performances in the USA with the LA Philharmonic, Kansas City Symphony Orchestra, San Diego Symphony, New World Symphony, and in Europe with the Czech Philharmonic, Orchestra National du Capitole de Toulouse, Orchestre National de Bordeaux Aquitaine and Prague Philharmonia. On the opera stage, his engagements include a return to the Metropolitan Opera for Tosca, as well as debuting at Opera du Rhin in Strasbourg with Turandot.
In recent seasons, Domingo has led performances at the Staatsoper Berlin, Wiener Staatsoper, Teatro Real Madrid, Royal Swedish Opera, Royal Opera House Muscat, Liceu Opera Barcelona, Dresden Semperoper and Lyric Opera of Chicago, where he was praised for "bringing out the best from the orchestra and vibrantly pacing the action" in their production of La Boheme (Chicago Sun Times).
Domingo Hindoyan was born in Caracas, Venezuela. He began his career as a violinist and member of the renowned Venezuelan musical education program El Sistema, and then was a member of Daniel Barenboim’s West-Eastern Divan Orchestra. He later went on to study conducting in Europe at the Haute École de Musique de Genève with Professor Laurent Gay and was the first assistant to Daniel Barenboim at the Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin between 2013 and 2016.
Lina González-Granados
Conductor (Nov 20-23)
From: Cali, Colombia. LA Opera: Lucia di Lammermoor (2022, debut); The Rape of Lucretia (2023); The Last Dream of Frida and Diego (2023); Fire and Blue Sky (2025); Dracula with Live Orchestra (2024); Romeo and Juliet (2024); Angel Blue concert (2025); Ainadamar (2025). She became Resident Conductor in 2022.
Praised for her "attention to orchestral colors" (OperaWire) and ability to create "lightning changes in tempo, meter, and effect" (Boston Musical Intelligencer), Colombian-American Lina González-Granados has distinguished herself nationally and internationally as a talented young conductor of symphonic and operatic repertoire. Her spirited interpretations of the orchestral repertoire, as well as her dedication to highlighting new and unknown works by Latin-American composers, have earned her international recognition, most recently as the recipient of the 2021 Sphinx Medal of Excellence, the third prize and ECHO Special Award (European Concert Hall Organization) of La Maestra Competition, and the 2020 and 2021 Solti Foundation US Career Assistance Award.
She was the winner of the Fourth Chicago Symphony Orchestra Sir Georg Solti International Conducting Competition, and became the new Solti Conducting Apprentice under the guidance of Riccardo Muti, beginning in February 2020. She has held positions as Conducting Fellow of the Philadelphia Orchestra and Seattle Symphony.
Her 2021/22 season highlights include returns to the New York Philharmonic and Rochester Philharmonic, as well as debuts with the National Symphony (USA), Ann Arbor Symphony, Gulbenkian Orchestra, Spanish National Orchestra, Barcelona Symphony, Nürnberger Symphoniker, Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini, Kristiansand Symphony, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Polish National Radio Symphony, Orquesta del Principado de Asturias, Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León and Tenerife Symphony.
She will also conduct The Barber of Seville at the Dallas Opera.
Recent appearances include performances with the New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic, Seattle Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic, Rhode Island Philharmonic, Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Colombia, and Filarmónica de Medellín. She has had the opportunity to work with world- renowned artists such as Yefim Bronfman, Pinchas Zukerman, Giancarlo Guerrero, Zubin Mehta, Marin Alsop and Yannick Nézet-Séguin.
She is an active and fervent proponent for the inclusion and development of new works for chamber and large orchestra, especially music from Latin-American composers. She is the Artistic Director of Unitas Ensemble, a chamber orchestra she founded that performs the works of Latinx composers, and provides access to free community performances for underserved communities. Her work with Unitas has earned her numerous community awards, most recently a Spark Boston award from the City of Boston. She has also commissioned multiple World, North-American, and American premieres, as well as the creation and release of the Unitas Ensemble album Estaciones, recorded alongside the Latin Grammy-winning Cuarteto Latinoamericano.
Born and raised in Cali, Colombia, Lina González-Granados made her conducting debut in 2008 with the Youth Orchestra of Bellas Artes in Cali. She holds a Master’s Degree in Conducting with Charles Peltz, a Graduate Diploma in Choral Conducting from New England Conservatory with Erica Washburn, and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Orchestral Conducting from Boston University. Her principal mentors include Marin Alsop, Bernard Haitink, Bramwell Tovey and Yannick Nézet- Séguin.
Learn more at LinaGonzalezGranados.com.
Read a feature article about her here.
Read the LA Times review of her 2022 LA Philharmonic debut here.
Ian Judge
Original Production
From: Southport, England. LA Opera: Tosca (1989, debut; revived five times); Madama Butterfly (1991; revived three times); The Marriage of Figaro (2004, revived three times); Roméo et Juliette (2005, 2011, 2024); Don Carlo (2006, 2018); Tannhäuser (2007); The Stigmatized (2010).
Ian Judge first joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1975. His productions there include The Wizard of Oz, The Comedy of Errors, Love’s Labour's Lost, Twelfth Night, A Christmas Carol, The Relapse, Troilus and Cressida and The Merry Wives of Windsor.
Theatrical credits elsewhere include The Rivals and King Lear at the Old Vic; Banana Ridge, One For The Pot and Peter Pan at the Shaw Festival in Canada; Macbeth for the Sydney Theatre Company; and Henry VIII and Love for Love for Chichester Festival Theatre.
Opera repertoire includes Madama Butterfly, Tosca, The Marriage of Figaro, Don Carlo, Roméo et Juliette, Tannhäuser and The Stigmatized (LA Opera); The Tales of Hoffmann (Sydney, Houston, Opera Pacific); Faust, The Merry Widow, Cav/Pag, La Belle Vivette, Don Quixote, Mefistofele (English National Opera, Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires); The Flying Dutchman, Simon Boccanegra (Royal Opera House Covent Garden); Simon Boccanegra (Washington, Dallas); Macbeth (Cologne) and Faust, Tosca, Macbeth, Boris Godunov, Acis and Galatea and Attila (Opera North); Norma (Scottish Opera, Buhnen Graz); La Bohème (Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg), The Mikado (Savoy Theatre), Salome (New York City Opera); Falstaff (Theatre du Châtelet in Paris); and Tannhäuser (Madrid).
John Gunter
Scenery
From: Billericay, Essex, England. LA Opera: Tosca (1989, debut; revived five times), Madama Butterfly (1991, revived three times), Albert Herring (1992), Roméo et Juliette (2005, 2011, 2024), Don Carlo (2006, 2018).
John Gunter (1938-2016) trained at the Central School of Art and Design in London. After working as resident designer for the English Stage Company at the Royal Court Theatre and for the the Schauspielhaus in Zurich he pursued an increasingly busy freelance career in Britain and abroad. He became head of design at the Royal National Theatre in 1988 and was associate designer there from 1990 to 1993.
He designed numerous productions including Edward Bond's Saved, Storey's The Contractor and Hampton's The Philanthropist at the Royal Court and West of Suez, Juno and the Paycock (nominated for a SWET Award) for the Royal Shakespeare Company. He participated in many Shakespeare productions both in Stratford and London. His work at the Royal National Theatre began in the 1970s with productions that included Chris Morahan's Wild Honey, Sir Richard Eyre's Guys and Dolls (each winning him a SWET Award) and David Hare's Skylight. Many of these plays and musicals transferred to the West End and to Broadway, where his work was regularly featured since the 1960s. Other USA productions have included work with the Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles.
In parallel with his career in spoken theater, John Gunter designed many operas on three continents. He worked at Glyndebourne with Sir Peter Hall on the 1985 production of Britten’s Albert Herring. His designs for The Marriage of Figaro opened the new theater there in 1994 and Porgy and Bess for Sir Trevor Nunn was seen on television (winning an Emmy Award). Work at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, included Simon Boccanegra and The Flying Dutchman. At the English National Opera his productions included Sir John in Love (2006), Faust, Don Quichotte and Mefistofele. Other productions included Peter Grimes (Salzburg Easter Festival 2005) in addition to work with the San Francisco Opera, La Scala in Milan, the Buenos Aires Opera and Australian Opera.
Tim Goodchild
Costumes
From: Guildford, England. LA Opera: scenery for The Marriage of Figaro (debut, 2004; revived three times); costumes for Roméo et Juliette (2005, 2011, 2024), Don Carlo (2006, 2018).
A three-time Olivier Award winner, he has designed scenery and costumes for stage, television and film. He has designed over 75 productions for the West End and 20 productions for the New Shakespeare Company. In 1988 he designed the first Anglo- Soviet production of Swan Lake for the Moscow Classical Ballet, seen in Moscow, London, the U.S. and Japan. He designed the ballet A Simple Man for BBC2, which won the 1987 BAFTA Award, and costumes for the film The Little Prince.
Projects include God Looked Away at the Pasadena Playhouse, the West End production and U.S. tour of the musical We Will Rock You, the West End premiere of Elf: The Musical, the London premiere of Putting It Together and The Nutcracker for the Houston Ballet Company.
Jeremy Frank
Chorus
Jeremy Frank became Chorus Director in 2022.
Since joining LA Opera in 2007, he has served as associate chorus director (since 2011) and assistant conductor, and he has worked closely with the Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program. Before becoming Chorus Director, he previously directed the LA Opera Chorus for the Plácido Domingo 50th Anniversary Concert (2017) and for The Clemency of Titus (2019). One of his generation’s most respected pianists and vocal coaches, he has collaborated with major opera houses throughout the United States. He has assisted in the preparation of operas and vocal chamber music at the LA Philharmonic. As a pianist, he has partnered with Sondra Radvanovsky, J'Nai Bridges, Eric Owens, Brandon Jovanovich, Rodell Rosel, Dolora Zajick, Kate Lindsey and Susan Graham. He accompanied Joyce DiDonato at the 54th Grammy Awards, the first time the ceremony featured a performance by a classical singer.
In partnership with the Getty Villa and LACMA in Los Angeles and the Phillips Collection in Washington D.C., he has curated multimedia recitals which draw connections between the classical vocal repertoire and special exhibits in the museums. He is a frequent collaborator at Wolf Trap Opera as an assistant conductor, chorus master and recitalist. He has been a guest coach at the Opernfestspiele St. Margarethen, in Esterhazy, Austria, and he helped prepare Seattle Opera’s Ring cycle in 2013. He has been a guest faculty member for young artist programs at Utah Opera and Seattle Opera, and he is a part-time lecturer in vocal arts and opera at the University of Southern California. (JeremyMFrank.com)
Read the synopsis
Synopsis
Prologue
Verona. A chorus tells of the tragic death of two young lovers destroyed by the ongoing feud between their families, the Montagues and the Capulets.
Act One
A festive crowd enjoys a ball given by the Capulet family. Capulet introduces his daughter Juliet, who charms the guests with her youthful beauty. As the crowd moves into the adjoining rooms for dancing, some young men come forward and unmask, friends of the rival Montagues. Although Mercutio tries to cheer him, Romeo is uneasy to find himself in enemy territory until his gloom is dispelled by the first sight of Juliet.
Juliet dismisses her Nurse’s talk of marriage to Count Paris; she is too excited about the ball to think about serious matters. When the Nurse is called away, Romeo takes the opportunity to speak with Juliet. Their mutual attraction is immediate. Romeo is dismayed to discover that he has fallen in love with the daughter of his sworn enemy. Tybalt recognizes Romeo’s voice and informs Juliet that she has been speaking with a hated Montague. Tensions rise, but Capulet defuses the situation by urging everyone to continue with the dance.
Act Two
Under cover of night, Romeo enters the Capulets’ garden to wait beneath Juliet’s balcony. When she appears, they cast aside their family prejudices and exchange passionate vows of love. Gregorio and the other Capulet servants come searching for any Montagues who might be lingering after the ball, but Romeo remains unseen. Alone with Romeo again, Juliet promises to marry him in secret.
Act Three
Friar Laurence agrees to marry Romeo and Juliet secretly, thereby helping to end the rivalry between the Capulets and Montagues. The Nurse arrives with Juliet to witness the ceremony.
Stephano sings a mocking song in front of the Capulet house. Gregorio and the other servants are impressed at the boy’s audacity; Gregorio and Stephano provoke a fight. When Mercutio enters, he is indignant to find the Capulets fighting a boy so young. Tybalt races in, and challenges Mercutio. Romeo tries to stop the fight, but Tybalt kills Mercutio. Enraged, Romeo challenges Tybalt and kills him, then privately despairs that he has killed a member of his wife’s family. As punishment, Romeo is exiled by the Duke of Verona.
Intermission
Act Four
At dawn in Juliet’s bedroom, Juliet forgives Romeo for Tybalt’s death. The lovers say farewell before Romeo reluctantly leaves for exile. After Romeo has left, Capulet announces that Juliet is to marry Count Paris the very next day. Friar Laurence gives her a potion which will make her appear dead; he will then arrange for Romeo to rescue Juliet from the tomb once she has awoken so the couple can leave Verona together. Juliet drinks the potion.
The next day, during the wedding ceremony, Juliet suddenly falls to the floor. The assembled guests are horrified when Capulet cries out that she is dead.
Act Five
Friar John tells Friar Laurence that news never reached Romeo that Juliet’s death was faked.
Romeo comes to Juliet’s tomb. Unaware of the truth, he believes Juliet to be dead. In despair, he drinks poison. Juliet revives too late to prevent his death. She stabs herself and the lovers die together.
Running time: approximately three hours and 15 minutes, including one intermission.
Sung in French with English subtitles.
An original LA Opera production.
Single Tickets on sale June 14
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