“Roméo et Juliette” by Charles Gounod libretto (English)

Contents: Roles And Prologue; Act One; Act Two; Act Three; Act Four; Act Five

Roles and PROLOGUE

Juliette - soprano
Roméo, son of Montaigu - tenor
Frère Laurent - bass
Mercutio, Romeo's friend - baritone
Stéphano, Romeo's page - soprano, (trouser role)
Count Capulet - bass
Tybalt, Lady Capulet's nephew - tenor
Gertrude, Juliet's nurse - mezzo-soprano
The Duke - bass
Pâris, a young count - baritone
Grégorio, Capulet's servant - baritone
Benvolio, Montague's nephew - tenor
Frère Jean - bass
Male and female retainers and kinsmen of the Houses of Capulet and Montague, maskers

Overture

PROLOGUE

CHORUS
Verona, of old, saw two rival families,
the Montagues and Capulets,
in their endless feudings, fatal to them both,
staining with blood the thresholds of their palaces.
Like a rosy ray gleaming in a stormy sky,
Juliet appeared, and Romeo loved her!
And both of them, forgetting the name that outraged them,
were fired by a selfsame love!
Fatal destiny! Blind passions!
These star-crossed lovers paid with their lives
for the ending of the century-old hatreds
that witnessed the birth of their love!

libretto by Joseph Allen, 1969

Contents: Roles And Prologue; Act One; Act Two; Act Three; Act Four; Act Five