Gounod: Romeo und Julia (Gesamtaufnahme) (Aufnahme Toulouse 1995)

PLASSON M. / O. DU CAPITOLE DE
This wonderful recording makes quite a case for what is often considered a rather sugary opera. Gounod's tale of the unfortunate Veronese couple can seem terribly artificial in some hands--a series of love scenes connected by choruses and chatter--but Plasson obviously respects the score and, while the opera is still no threat to Shakespeare, it comes across as a truly dramatic retelling. And it doesn't hurt to have two young voices as the young lovers: Gheorghiu, with her grainy, textured soprano, is not the chirpy soubrette who too frequently is cast in this role; and her real-life husband, Roberto Alagna, here actually lives up to his hype, singing with style, class, and ringing tone (all the way up to the optional high C with which he ends the third act). The rest of the cast is excellent, singing in idiomatic French and taking the drama seriously as well. This set is a beauty, sugar and all, and is recommended to all fans of fine singing. --Robert Levine

Number of Discs: 3

UK Delivery:

• Free delivery on all orders of £10 or more.
• £1.49 delivery fee on orders below £10.
• UK orders are shipped via Royal Mail 2nd Class.

International Delivery:

• Flat rate delivery charges vary by country.

Dispatch and Delivery Times:

• All orders are shipped from our warehouse in Northampton, UK within 48 hours of receipt during working hours.
• UK mainland orders typically arrive within 3-5 working days via Royal Mail 2nd Class.
• International estimated delivery times:
• Europe & Channel Islands: 7 to 10 working days
• USA: 7 to 15 working days
• Rest of the World: 9 to 21 working days

View our full delivery infomation here.