The Grand Opera entry in this year’s French May was a reprise of Opera Hong Kong’s 2016 production of Charles Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, performed 10-12 May at Hong Kong Cultural Centre.
Opera Hong Kong seems to have a made a point of again casting francophone principals for this most French of French operas, with Chloé Chaume and Aurélie Jarjaye alternating as Juliette, and Thomas Bettinger and Kevin Amiel sharing the role of Roméo.
Yoann Dubruque, Jean Fernand Setti, Valentine Lemercier and the veteran Paul Gay were Mercutio, Juliette’s father Capulet, Stéphano and Laurent (Friar Lawrence) respectively.
Local artists Chen Yong and Apollo Wong stood out as Tybalt and the Duke.
But Arnaud Bernard’s dark, brooding and dramatically lit sets were the star of this production—this was a gritty, rather than the normally pretty, Roméo et Juliette—followed closely by the Opera Hong Kong Orchestra under the baton of Roberto Gianola.