Rodula Gaitanou's Romeo et Juliette, premiered on the 23rd October. Collaborating with Olivier Award-nominated designer, Takis, she reimagines Gounod’s masterpiece. A co-production with West Australian Opera, and Irish National Opera, the work will later appear in Perth and Dublin.
Read the reviews:
Chris Reid, Limelight:
"This moment adverts both to gang violence and to war and its consequences for future generations, and director Rodula Gaitanou brilliantly thrusts Shakespeare’s story into the contemporary world...Gaitanou’s inspired direction renews Gounod’s conception of Shakespeare’s play...This outstanding co-production by State Opera South Australia, West Australian Opera and Irish National Opera is a compelling and thought-provoking piece of theatre – a must-see."
John Goodridge, The AU Review:
"Director Rodula Gaitanou has taken Gounod’s distillation of Shakespeare’s play and imagined it as a love story that transcends time and space...this production imagines a lavish retelling. Everything about the performance is superb. From the costumes, the wigs, the lighting, the stage set, the chorus, the orchestra, the voices, everything comes together to create a sumptuous feast for the senses."
Russell Fewster, The Conversation:
"From her training with École Jacques Lecoq, director Rodula Gaitanou is interested in the notion of “suspended space” and how a theatrical space is charged by human rhythm to become a living space [...] Gaitanou uses with great effect the raising of the individual guns of the Montagues and Capulets."
Graham Strahle, IN DAILY:
"The tension is already high, like Bernstein in West Side Story, and one wonders if this production by the Greek-born, French-trained director Rodula Gaitanou will quickly descend into a bloodbath even before the Overture is finished...this production really sets the cat among the pigeons, though, is how it subverts realism through freewheeling fantasy...Gaitanou has concocted what may be one of the zaniest costume parties ever staged. Putting their pistols aside, the Capulets are now adorned in frilly skirts, boas and feathers – men and women."
Barry Hill, Stage Whispers:
"Under the direction of Rodula Gaitanou, these themes are more than explored, they are fleshed out. Gaitanou has abandoned the traditional ‘stand and sing’ of opera and replaced it with genuine emotion that tugs at our heart strings...Her characters are real, the love is real as is the hatred. We feel for the characters and their doomed plight. Will the feuding families find common ground after the tragic deaths of Romeo and Juliet? We may never know, but this version gives us hope for the future...There is one word that perfectly sums up Romeo et Juliette by State Opera South Australia, and that word is sublime! If you haven’t bought a ticket yet, I urge you to do so quickly, it is a stunning production!"
Photo credit: Andrew Beveridge
