Bellini’s opera is the pure essence of Bel Canto, culminating in a tragic death scene that the great Philip Gossett called “the most moving finale of any Italian opera.” Composed in 1830 for the Teatro la Fenice in Venice, it was one of the last operas to follow the tradition of using a high voice for the hero’s role, a practice that reflected the long era of the castrati on the Italian stage, which had only recently come to an end. The original Romeo was Giuditta Grisi, followed in the part by other still-legendary names: Giuditta Pasta, Maria Malibran, and Wilhelmine Schröder-Devrient. Richard Wagner said that he first conceived his ideas for Tristan und Isolde while listening (from the conductor’s podium) to Schröder-Devrient’s Romeo.

When the opera began to return in the 20th century Bel Canto revival, the names of Giulietta Simionato, Janet Baker, Fiorenza Cossotto, and Agnes Baltsa were added to that list; at Teatro Nuovo they will be joined by Simone McIntosh, hailed by audience and press for her Anna in TN’s Maometto Secondo. As her Juliet, Alina Tamborini returns after charming our public as Isoletta in La Straniera and Berta in the Damrosch Park production of Il Barbiere di Siviglia that brought New York its first full opera performances after the pandemic shutdown. They are joined by Robert Kleinertz, Kyle Oliver, and Michael Leyte-Vidal as Tybalt, Friar Laurence, and Capulet.

Musical direction will be shared by Associate Artistic Director Jakob Lehmann on violin and Will Crutchfield on fortepiano, both familiar to TN audiences from their collaborations in Tancredi, La Straniera, and Il Barbiere. Lehmann has also directed or co-directed Medea in Corinto, La Gazza Ladra, Maometto Secondo, and Poliuto for the company, establishing himself as one of the most important interpreters of Bel Canto in the rising generation.

Teatro Nuovo presents its operas fully acted on stage with projections of period-style scenery in lieu of sets and costumes. For 2024, Marco Nisticò joins the team to supervise this semi-staging. Nisticò, a longtime collaborator of Crutchfield at the Caramoor Festival, includes among his singing credits appearances at Metropolitan Opera, the Opera di Roma, Cincinnati Opera, San Diego Opera and many others, and currently serves as Artistic Administrator of Sarasota Opera.