OBERLIN, OHIO—The Oberlin Conservatory's Opera Theater will present Charles Gounod's romantic opera Romeo et Juliette in three acts, sung in French, on Nov. 18, 20, and 21 at 8 p.m., and a 2 p.m. matinee on Nov. 22. Set in Verona, Italy, the tragic story is based on the famous Shakespeare play. Ward Holmquist (OC '81) will conduct members of the Oberlin orchestra. The director is Jonathon Field, director of Opera Theater and assistant professor of music. Romeo et Juliette is produced in cooperation with the Oberlin College Theater and Dance Program and supported by the Louis C. Sudler Foundation.

Charles Francois Gounod (1818-1893) is a composer of sensitivity and nuance. Although he began as an organist and church musician, his reputation has been made in the world of opera. He has been criticized as being over-sentimental but no one can disagree with the sheer beauty of lyrical writing, which consists chiefly of Faust (1859) and Romeo et Juliette (1864).

The Romeo et Juliette librettists, Jules Barbier and Michael Carre--also the authors of Gounod's earlier success Faust --did an admirable job of condensing the play into operatic form while leaving whole passages between the lovers intact. All the famous lines that have been oft quoted and misquoted are to be found in the opera, just in a French translation. "Soft! What light through yonder window breaks..." has been expanded into a wonderful aria for the tenor, and "Parting is such sweet sorrow" has likewise been turned into a lovely duet. Due to the conventions of the Paris Opera in Gounod's time, a character not found in the play was added for a young female singer: Stephano, the rascal page who provides the impetus for the fatal duel between Tybalt and Romeo. Composers in that day not only answered to convention but to the singers; a recalcitrant soprano apparently unhappy with her amount of music led to the insertion of the sparkling, if irrelevant "Je veux vivre dans un reve" (I want to live in a dream) in the first act, which has no counterpoint in the original Shakespeare text.

The age-old story is this: The Montagues and the Capulets, old and distinguished Veronese families, have been feuding since time immemorial. At a Capulet party, Romeo, a Montague, and his friends have come in disguise; he falls in love with Juliette, the daughter of Capulet, and is drawn back to her balcony after the party. With the aid of Frere Laurent and Juliette's nurse, Gertrude, they are secretly married. Juliette's cousin Tybalt spied Romeo at the party and is spoiling for a fight; he gets his chance when they have cornered a Montague page Stephano, and Romeo intervenes but refuses to fight Tybalt. Romeo's friend Mercutio, enraged at Tybalt's insults, fights Tybalt but is killed; Romeo in revenge slays Tybalt and is banished. He defies the verdict for his wedding night with Juliette and just escapes from her room before Capulet enters with the announcement that she is to marry Paris. Frere Laurent gives a her a potion that will make her body feign death and assures her that all will be well; Romeo, upon hearing that she is dead and, having missed an important message from the Frere, goes to her tomb and takes poison; she wakes up and sees that he is doomed; she stabs herself and they die in each other's arms.

This production features Oberlin Conservatory students double-cast in the principal roles. The casts alternate performances, with one cast appearing Wednesday and Saturday and the other on Friday and Sunday. Principal cast members include Romeo (Limmie Pulliam, Jr. '99 and Daniel Paget '99), Juliette (Dea Lunsford '00 and Rhiannon Giddens '99); Mercutio (Michael Chipman Artist Diploma '01 and Hugh Russell Artist Diploma '01); Stephano (Marie Lenormand '99 and Sheila Murphy '99); Gertrude (Rosalie Sullivan '99 and Julie Cross '99); and Tybalt (John Rodger '00 and Mark McQuade '00). Oberlin students single cast in the supporting characters are: Frere Laurent (Michael Preacely '00); Capulet (Daniel Okulitch '99); Paris (Valentine Lanzrein AD '99); Benvolio (Marc Callahan '00); and Le Duc (Sherwood Wise '99).

WARD HOLMQUIST (Conductor) has been named one of the top eleven young conductors in America to "Keep Your Eye On" by Opera News magazine. He holds advanced degrees from the Oberlin Conservatory and the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign, and was a Fulbright grant recipient to Vienna, Austria. Currently he holds the position of Music Director/Conductor for the opera program at the University of Southern California, where he conducts the opera productions and directs the musical training for all members of the opera department. Mr. Holmquist has recently accepted the position of Artistic Director for the Lyric Opera of Kansas City. As the Resident Conductor for Houston Grand Opera Mr. Holmquist distinguished himself by leading over twenty production in a wide variety of musical styles, including world premieres of challenging contemporary works, general operatic repertoire, and innovative musical theater works.

JONATHON FIELD (Director) has directed over fifty productions throughout the United States and is becoming one of America's most sought after stage directors. He has directed touring productions for the Lyric Opera of Chicago of Trouble in Tahiti, Gianni Schicchi, The Old Maid and the Thief, and The Spanish Hour. For San Francisco Opera's Western Opera Theatre he directed La Cenerentola and Die Fledermaus and for Seattle Opera, an updated version of La Boheme. In San Francisco he has also directed Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin and Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov in the original Russian. Over the past ten years, he has also directed ten productions for the Arizona Opera, being deemed by the press "their most perceptive stage-director". Mr. Field's range extends from the avante-garde to musical comedy. He has successfully introduced computer-generated scenery to opera production in Candide , and he has pioneered the use of video-projected scenery in productions of Tales of Hoffmann . and Der Freischutz . In the realm of operetta and musicals, he has staged H.M.S. Pinafore for Opera Omaha, Trial by Jury for Lake George Opera, Bernstein's Wonderful Town in Chicago, and Merry Widow and Countess Maritza in San Francisco.

The Oberlin Opera Theater production staff includes assistant music director Alan Montgomery; assistant director/stage manager Jennifer Wamsley, Oberlin alumna; scene designer Michael Louis Grube, associate professor of theater; costume designer Chris Flaharty, associate professor of theater; lighting designer Jen Groseth, lecturer in theater.