The tragic story of two lovers, separated by the enmity of their families, has been read by means of music, choreography and cinema an infinite number of times. The musical theater has also paid tribute to this story - more than two dozen operas and at least four musicals are based on it. One of them - "West Side Story" - is deservedly considered the greatest masterpiece of the genre.

In the late 90s, with the advent of the musical Notre-Dame de Paris (“Notre Dame Cathedral”), France developed new standard theater show, characteristic features which had a libretto based on the classical love story, a score composed of pop songs, spectacular design and trendy choreography.

Shakespeare's play was fertile material for adaptation in this style, which was used by the French composer, poet and singer Gérard Presgurvic. He abandoned the Shakespearean text and retold the story in his own words, retaining the main plot conflicts original. Presgurvik left some minor characters out of his libretto and introduced two allegorical characters - Death and the Poet.

The first melody of the future performance - Aimer - was composed by Presgurvik in 1998. He devoted the next two years to working on musical material and song lyrics. The musical had not yet been completed when veteran producer Gérard Louvin of Glem became interested. On February 14, 2000, the musical was presented to the press, and on April 3, a concept album with 17 songs from the play was released. Released simultaneously with the album, the single Aimer sold 500,000 copies. By the end of 2000, 5 more songs from the album were released as singles, one of which - Les rois du monde ("Kings of the World") - held the first line of the French national hit parade for several weeks and was sold in 800,000 copies.

The original French version of the performance opens with an instrumental overture preceded by a short prose introduction: Toutes les histoires commencent pareil... Rien de nouveau sous la lune... Voici celle de Rom?o et Juliette... (Ouverture) (All stories begin the same way. .. Nothing new under the sun... Here is the story of Romeo and Juliet).

The Duke of Verona welcomes the audience in the city subject to him. He introduces some of its inhabitants and talks about the enmity of two families - the Montagues and the Capulets (V?rona / Verona). The Duke orders them to stop their destructive quarrels. No less than the Duke of strife, the mothers of families - Lady Montague and Lady Capulet - are worried. Watching from the balconies the next skirmish between the clans, women send curses to the heavenly and earthly forces that have planted hatred for each other (La haine / Enmity) in the hearts of people. Romeo Montecchi prefers to stay away from strife. He dreams of love and draws in his imagination the future object of his passion. The young man is sure that the hour of their meeting is not far away (Un jour / Once).

An influential nobleman named Paris is wooing Juliet, the daughter of Count Capulet. The count is flattered by his proposal, and although it seems to him that his daughter is still just a child, he decides to marry her off (Le demande en marriage / Matchmaking). Juliet herself cannot figure out her own desires, and marriage frightens her. The mother and the nurse explain to the girl what the purpose of a woman is (Tu dois te marier / You must marry), and Juliet is forced to agree with them.

Romeo's friends - Mercutio and Benvolio - tear the young man away from his dreams, dragging him to the lights of the night city, where they are waiting for the temptations and joys of the real, and not the invented world (Les roi du monde / Kings of the world).

Suddenly, Romeo is seized by an inexplicable anxiety. The young man confesses to his friends the vague fears that torment him (J'ai peur / I'm scared). He seems to feel the presence of Death that has taken possession of his fate. But Benvolio and Mercutio intend to have fun, not be sad. They invite Romeo to unwind, and to make the evening even more poignant, they decide to go to a ball at the Capulet's house, hiding their faces under masks.

The celebration of the engagement of the only daughter of Count Capulet is in full swing. The guests are having fun, and the hosts are not far behind them (Le bal, instrumental / Ball (instrumental composition). Juliet is persistently pushed towards the groom, whom she diligently avoids, preferring her cousin Tybalt. Suddenly, a stranger in a mask attracts her attention ...

Death, as always, is near. She chooses Romeo and Juliet as her next victims, who, as soon as they met, fell in love at first sight (L'amour heureux / Happy love).

Tybalt recognizes the worst enemy of the Capulet family, Romeo Montague, in the stranger and exposes him. Juliet is horrified that the young man who conquered her belongs to an enemy clan (Le bal 2). Tybalt, who is not indifferent to Juliet, indulges in gloomy thoughts about his awkward lonely life (C'est pas ma faute / I'm not to blame).

Juliet can't sleep. She shares her feelings with the Poet (Le po? te / the character is absent in the Russian version). Romeo, burning with the same passion, comes under the balcony of his beloved and involuntarily overhears the confessions made to the moon and stars. Juliet asks Romeo for proof of the sincerity of his feelings. The young man asks her to marry him, but Juliet decides to give the final answer the next day through the nurse, so that each of them has time to realize their desires (Le balcon / Balcony).

Meanwhile, the enmity between the Montague and Capulet clans does not subside. Father Lorenzo is surprised by the request of the once windy Romeo to secretly marry him and Juliet (Par amour / For the sake of love). Touched by the pleas of the lovers, the priest agrees in the hope that the marriage of the offspring of the warring families will put an end to the bloody strife.

Juliet sends a nurse and a silent maid to find out what Romeo's decision is - to be with him or to leave. The women run into Benvolio and Mercutio. Loyal to the Montecchi clan, young people make unexpected guests laugh, bullying and teasing the nurse, who talks about the impossible - the love of Romeo and Juliet (Les beaux, les laids / Handsome and freaks). Tenderly loving her milk daughter, the nurse perceives the news of the upcoming wedding with excitement. She believes Romeo's feelings and prays to heaven to give happiness to her dear girl (Et voilà qu'elle aime / And now she is in love).

In the chapel, everything is ready for the sacrament, and Father Lorenzo, in the presence of a few witnesses, crowns Romeo and Juliet (Aimer / Love).

The news of the secret wedding quickly spreads throughout Verona and reaches the ears of Benvolio and Mercutio. They accuse their friend of betrayal and dishonor and demand that he renounce Juliet. Romeo indignantly refuses - his whole life is now devoted to this love (On dit dans la rue / There are rumors).

But the rumors reached not only true friends - the sworn enemy of all Montagues, thirsting for revenge Tybalt, is going to attack Romeo (C'est le jour / That day has come). Mercutio stands in his way. With his evil jokes, he tries to distract Tybalt so that Romeo can hide. A verbal skirmish quickly turns into a fight, Romeo tries to reconcile the opponents, but inflamed with hatred and mutual insults, they do not hear his arguments. By chance Tybalt stabs Mercutio with Romeo's dagger (Le duel/Duel). Young people do not immediately understand what happened. Dying in Romeo's arms, Mercutio blesses the love of a friend and curses the enmity between the clans (Mort de Mercutio / Death of Mercutio). Tybalt does not have time to realize what he has just done: Romeo pierces his heart with a dagger. Death opens the account.

A crowd is gathering in the square. The Capulets demand that the Duke hand over Romeo, the murderer of Tybalt. Lady Montecchi defends her son: Tybalt was the first to shed blood. Romeo admits that he could not help but avenge the death of his named brother, the murder was not committed by people, but by the hatred ignited in their hearts by today's accusers (La vengeance / Vengeance). After listening to the parties, the Duke makes a decision: Romeo will not die, but will leave Verona forever. This is the final decision, and neither the pleas of the mother, nor the requests of friends will change it. Left alone, the duke reflects on the nature of power, on the pleasure and evil that it conceals (Le pouvoir / Power).

Juliet learns about the tragedy from the nurse. Contradictory feelings overwhelm her: deep grief for the deceased cousin and love for her husband, who unwittingly became his killer. Romeo finds temporary shelter with Father Lorenzo. It is hard for him to part with his beloved (Duo du désespoir / Duet of despair - in the Russian production, this aria precedes the aria “Power”).

Night falls - for unfortunate lovers, it is both marriage and last. Together they meet the dawn, which is heralded by a lark under the bedroom window (Le chant de l'alouette / Song of the lark). Romeo goes into exile in Mantua.

Juliet is inconsolable. Seeing the sincere grief of his daughter, the Count decides to hasten her wedding with Paris, hoping thereby to console and protect Juliet. Lady Capulet informs her daughter that the next day she will marry an influential nobleman. Shocked, Juliet turns to the nurse for advice: she loves and is loved, she is married, how can she marry another? But the nurse believes that the marriage with the murderer should remain in the past - Juliet is waiting for a new page in life (Demain / Tomorrow).

Firm and adamant when it comes to the fate of the household, alone with himself, the count allows all the tenderness and love that he feels for his daughter to manifest. He firmly believes that he is acting for her good and bitterly regrets that he is forever losing his little girl - she will never be the same as before (Avoir une fille / Raise a daughter).

In exile, Romeo yearns for Juliet: nothing is sweet without her. Juliet turns to Father Lorenzo for help, who suggests that she drink a sleeping potion and fake her own death so that Romeo can take her away (Sans elle/Without Her).

Pretending to accept Paris's offer, Juliet drinks the potion and falls into a dead sleep. Lorenzo sends a letter to Mantua with a story about the plan, but the message does not reach - on the way he is intercepted by Death, circling over the heroes all this time (Le poison / Poison).

The next morning, the Capuletti family again plunges into mourning. The lifeless Juliet is buried in the family vault. Benvolio decides that Romeo must learn about the death of his beloved and wife. Benvolio does not rearrange how to tell Romeo about a new misfortune, after all the sorrows that have befallen a friend (Comment lui dire / How to tell him).

Confused, Romeo returns to Verona with the firm intention of connecting with Juliet at least in the afterlife. He enters the crypt, where he mourns his unfortunate fate and ruined love. Poisoned by the kiss of Death, he droops next to his wife (La mort de Rom?o / Death of Romeo). Juliet wakes up and tries to wake Romeo. But her efforts are in vain. With horror, Juliet is convinced that her husband is dead. Hating a world in which there is no place for her love, Juliet stabs herself (La mort de Juliette / Juliet's death).

Upon learning that the letter did not reach Romeo, Father Lorenzo hurries to the crypt, but too late. Horrified by the tragedy that happened with his participation, Father Lorenzo can no longer find love in his heart for a cruel God who could allow such a thing (J'sais plus / I don't know anymore).

The tomb is gradually filled with representatives of both clans. The Montagues and Capulets relive the death of Romeo and Juliet. Two mothers bend over their children frozen in their last embrace and vow to put an end to their mutual hatred. All participants in the events (Coupable / Guilty) join the promise.

The French premiere of the performance took place on January 19, 2001 at the Palais des Congrès in Paris. Starring Damien Sargue (Damien Sargue, Romeo), Cecilia Cara (Cécilia Cara, Juliet) and Gregory Baquet (Grégori Baquet, Benvolio), Tom Ross (Tom Ross, Tybalt), Eleanor Baio (Eléonore Beaulieu, Lady Montecchi), Isabelle Ferron (Isabelle Ferron, Lady Capulet), Réjane Perry (Réjane Perry, Nurse), Sebastien Chateau (Sébastien Chato, Count of Capulet), Jean-Claude Adida (Jean-Claude Hadida, Lorenzo's brother), Frederic Charte (Frédéric Charter, Duke) , Essai (Essaï, Paris), Serge Le Borgne (Serge Le Borgne, Poet), Anne Mano (Anne Mano, Death).

The performance was directed and choreographed by Redha, also known as the director of the musical comedies Les Demoiselles de Rochefort (The Girls of Rochefort) and Belles Belles Belles. Spectacular scenery - transforming towers, appearing as castles of Montagues, Capuleti and Duke - was designed by Dominique Lebourges. The costumes for the musical (robes in the style of the XIV century with a touch of modernity) were created by Dominique Borg (Dominique Borg), the lighting was handled by Bart de Coensel, who also created the lighting design for the musical Le petit prince ("The Little Prince").

Critics praised new production. Many of them called Romeo and Juliet the best French musical. Due to its huge success in the summer of 2001, the musical crossed the ocean and toured Canada. The Paris production closed on December 21, 2002. By that time, the musical "Romeo and Juliet" was watched by more than a million viewers throughout France.

Almost immediately after the premiere, foreign producers became interested in the play. On November 4, 2002, the production opened in London theater Piccadilly Theatre. However, in Shakespeare's homeland, the performance was met with a cool reception, and after four months of showings it closed. This circumstance did not prevent Presgurvik's musical from conquering Europe. In 2003, a production appeared in Antwerp (Belgium), which subsequently toured the Netherlands. In 2004, the performance opened in Budapest and in 2005 in Vienna, and for the first time in the history of this musical, a live orchestra was involved in the Vienna production. The musical toured Asia in 2007 and opened in Mexico a year later. At the same time, something new was introduced into each production, but in general they were all slightly more or slightly less modified versions of the original French performance. The only exception to this rule was the Hungarian production, which, unlike all the others, can be considered an absolutely independent performance. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the only thing that links it to the French original is the musical score. Everything else - the libretto, texts of musical numbers, scenography, costumes, characters - has undergone significant processing. As a result, "Romeo and Juliet", a musical built on the principle of a concert, has turned into a full-fledged musical performance. Such significant changes occurred due to the fact that in Hungary the production of this musical for the first time was carried out not by the French team led by Reda, but directly by the "host" - the Budapest Operetta Theater. The play was directed by artistic director Theater Miklós Gábor (KERO) (Kerényi Miklós Gábor - KERO®), translated by Galambos Attila, costumes by Rita Velich (Velich Rita), scenery by Béla Götz (Götz Béla). The main roles in the performance were performed by Attila Dolhai (Dolhai Attila) - Romeo, Dora Sinetar (Szinetár Dora, Juliet), Sylvester P. Sobu (Szabó P. Szilveszter, Tybalt), Zoltan Beretsky (Bereczki Zoltán, Mercutio), Arpad Zholt Misaros (Mészáros Árpád Zsolt, Benvolio, Zsolt Homonnoy (Homonnay Zsolt, Paris), Jonzo Kota (Janza Kata, Lady Cauletti), Tomas Földes (Földes Tamás, Lorenzo's brother), Németh Attila (Németh Attila, Duke), Erica Naroy (Náray Erika, Nurse) ) In 2004, a concept album of the Hungarian version of the musical "Romeo and Juliet" was published, in 2006 it was released on DVD, and in 2009 Miklós Gabor Kerenyi staged it in Romania on the stage of the Bucharest National Opera.

On May 20, 2004, the Russian version of the musical was opened at the Moscow Operetta Theater. The project was implemented by Metro Entertainment, which staged such musicals as Metro and Notre-Dame de Paris. An author's version of the performance was also created in Moscow. The world ballet star Nikolai Tsiskaridze was invited to play the role of Death. The members of the premiere cast were Eduard Shulzhevsky (Romeo), Sofia Nizharadze (Juliet), Pavel Maksimov (Tybalt), Stanislav Belyaev (Mercutio), Sergei Li (Benvolio), Alexander Marakulin (Count Capulet), Anastasia Sapozhnikova (Lady Capulet), Natalya Sidortsova (Nurse), Lika Rulla (Lady Montecchi), Pavel Belkov (Death), Vladimir Dybsky (Duke), Mohammed Abdel Fattah (Paris), Anton Artsev (brother Lorenzo). The play ran for two years.

To date, there are audio recordings of all 6 productions of the musical, including the Russian version. In 2002, a video recording of the performance was released with the original Parisian cast.

In the original version of the play, after Count Capulet's aria Avoir une fille ("Father and Daughter"), Juliet's aria Pourquoi ("Why") followed, in which Juliet does not understand why she should obey her parents and is looking for ways to save her marriage to Romeo. This scene is not on the official video of the performance, and in the Moscow version of the musical it was also cropped. However, this aria can be heard on the recording of the Russian production, on which it is performed in a duet by the participants of two compositions - E. Ryabtseva and S. Nizharadze.

Musical "Romeo and Juliet"

“There is no sadder story in the world ...” - William Shakespeare summed up one of the best literary tragedies. Several centuries later, the creators of the musical "Romeo and Juliet" would not agree with this. The French interpretation of the British play spread all over the world and brought them great fame and millions in royalties. And for many performers, it was also a successful start to a vocal career.

Summary of the musical "Romeo and Juliet" and many interesting facts read about this work on our page.

Characters	Description
Prince	head of Verona
Tybalt	Juliet's cousin
Brother Lorenzo	Priest
Paris	young nobleman, fiance of Juliet
Clan Montecchi
Romeo	youth
Lady Montecchi	his mother
Benvolio	Romeo's friends
Mercutio
Clan Capulet
Juliet	young girl
Count Capulet	her father
Lady Capulet	her mother
Nurse	Juliet's babysitter
Death

Summary

The Prince of Verona presents the chief actors and talks about the many years of enmity between the Montagues and the Capulets. In her bedroom, Juliet dreams of love while her father arranges marriage with Paris.

A ball is planned at the Capulet house, and Romeo's friends persuade him to go there incognito. The young man has a bad feeling, but he shows up at the enemies' house. At the ball, Romeo and Juliet fall in love, but Tybalt exposes Romeo, and Juliet finds out that Montecchi has become her chosen one.

Romeo comes to Juliet under the balcony, and they reveal their feelings to each other. The young man agrees with his brother Lorenzo on a secret wedding. He agrees to do it for love. Romeo conveys the news of this to his beloved through the Nurse, under the cover of night they are married.

Romeo's friends, having learned that he married Capulet, declare him a traitor. Tybalt is burning with a thirst for revenge and is looking for Romeo, but he finds Mercutio, with whom he has a conflict. A weapon is used, and Tybalt mortally wounds his opponent. Romeo loses his head from grief and plunges a knife into the murderer.

In both Verona families, mourning, the Prince decides to expel Romeo from Verona in order to calm the Capuleti, who are thirsty for revenge. Romeo spends the night before exile with Juliet, and the next morning her parents announce that tomorrow she will become Paris's wife.

Juliet turns to Lorenzo's brother for help, who gives her a sleeping tincture. She drinks it and doesn't wake up in the morning. The nurse, finding her motionless, decides that she is dead. Lorenzo's brother informs Romeo in a letter of the plan they have conceived, but Benvolio arrives at his friend's place early and tells of Juliet's death. A shocked Romeo sees his beloved in the family crypt and accepts the kiss of Death. Juliet wakes up and is horrified to find dead Romeo nearby. Out of desperation, she is stabbed to death with his dagger. Brother Lorenzo finds them. For the first time he wavered in his faith, seeing such a tragic injustice. Over the bodies of their children, the Montagues and the Capulets decide to reconcile.

A photo:

Interesting Facts

• The original version of the musical is called Romeo and Juliet: From Hate to Love. The 2010 version is Romeo and Juliet, Children of Verona.
• Since the role of Death is absent in many productions, Romeo's death is solved in different ways: he drinks poison, is stabbed with a dagger, and in the Hungarian version he even hangs himself.

• A small part of the Poet is also often excluded from productions.
• In the 2010 revival, the role of Juliet was played by Joy Esther, the actual wife of Romeo's Damien Sarga. It is interesting that when Sarg acted as Phoebus in the dubbing part of the musical Notre Dame de Paris, he had a personal relationship with Helen Segara - Esmeralda.
• For the 2010 performance, Presgurvik wrote 6 new numbers: a new version of "Tu dois te marier" (Lady Capulet's aria), "Tybalt" (Tybalt's aria), "A la vie, a la mort" (duet of Benvolio and Mercutio), "Verone II" (Prince's aria), "Avoir 20 ans" (closing number) and "On prie" (Romeo and Juliet's duet). The last two songs were also released as singles.
• Over the past years, performances of Romeo and Juliet have been attended by 2 million spectators in France and 5 million worldwide. The CD and DVD versions of the musical have sold over 14 million copies.

• Both French versions of the musical were released on DVD - 2001 and 2010. There is also a recording of an Italian performance that took place in 2014 under open sky at the Arena di Verona.
• In 2003, Presgurvik released the musical Gone with the Wind, in which his daughter, Laura, played the role of Scarlett O'Hara. The performance ran for three months on the stage of the Paris Sports Palace, but, despite the successful melodies, it did not adequately reflect the spirit of the cult novel by M. Mitchell, turned out to be somewhat more lightweight than the original source, and did not gain the fame of Romeo and Juliet.
• Several large-scale Asian tours of the musical speak of its unconditional popularity in these countries. In 2018, as part of the next tour, viewers will again see Damien Sarga in the role of Romeo.
• In the Russian production, one of the performers of the role of Death was National artist Russian Nikolai Tsiskaridze. His voice is also heard in the prologue.

Best numbers

Les Rois du monde("Kings of night Verona").The dynamic trio of Romeo, Mercutio and Benvolio. The most popular composition from the musical, which became famous in many countries even before the start of productions. The Russian version is performed by A. Aleksandrin, S. Lee, A. Postolenko.

"Les Rois du monde" (listen)

"Aimer"(“Blessing” or “Happiness”).This wonderful melody set the tone for the entire musical, since it was precisely this melody that J. Presgurvik wrote the very first.

"Aimer" (listen)

"Avoir une fille"("Father and daughter").The most poignant aria of the musical. The father's anxiety for his daughter, regrets about how quickly she became an adult, and in her heart he is no longer given such a big place as before. It was this aria performed by A. Marakulin that was chosen for the presentation of the Russian version of Romeo and Juliet.

"Avoir une fille" (listen)

History of creation and productions

French musician Gerard Presgurvik was well over 40 when he single-handedly wrote the musical Romeo and Juliet. The idea was submitted by the composer's wife, and the path to recognition was paved by Notre Dame de Paris, staged three years earlier - it was to them that Paris, almost 20 years after Les Misérables, announced itself as the world capital of the musical, on a par with London and New York. York. But if in the case of "Notre Dame de Paris" the French took advantage of their classic plot, then Presgurvik was simply lucky that the super-popular story of young lovers did not attract the attention of any of the masters of British musical theater before him. Music work was completed in 1999. The composer also wrote all the poems and spoken passages himself, relying on Shakespeare's text, but presenting his own view of the events of the tragedy. Several songs ("Aimer", "Les Rois du monde") were recorded and released as singles, becoming world hits even before the stage version was released.

On January 19, 2001, the premiere took place at the Palais des Congrès. The famous French choreographer Reda became the director and choreographer of the performance. Damien Sargue (Romeo) and Cecilia Cara (Juliet) performed in the title roles. Sarg was known to the public because he performed the parts of Gringoire and Phoebus in the musical Notre Dame de Paris. Presgurvik, who also saw these works, did not imagine any other Romeo. Cecilia Cara was a young girl from Cannes who at the age of 14 announced herself in a television vocal competition, and at 16 brilliantly auditioned for the role of Juliet. In Paris and on tour in the cities of France, the performance ran for almost 2 years. The musical has been translated into more than 10 languages, and fundamental changes have been made to the score for productions in some countries.

The first foreign version appeared already in 2002 - it was a Canadian French version. In the autumn of the same year, a Belgian version in Flemish and English was released. Londoners were not particularly impressed by the musical, and after 3.5 months of hire, it closed. But in the Budapest Theater of Operetta "Romeo and Juliet" became long-livers - the performance was staged in 2004 and has not left the stage for 13 years. True, the production of the Hungarians differs significantly from the original, its director, Kero (M.G. Kerenyi), a well-known European master of musical theater, presented his concept of the musical, for which new numbers were even created.

For 2 years - from 2004 to 2006 "Romeo and Juliet" were performed on the stage of the Moscow Operetta Theater by the creative forces of the producer team E. Gechmen-Waldeck. The French production was completely transferred to Russia with some cuts. The Russian text was written by N. Olev, the main parts were played by A. Aleksandrin, E. Shulzhevsky (Romeo), S. Nizharadze, E. Ryabtseva (Juliet). In the next few years, the musical was performed in various cities of Russia in a touring version.

Since 2005, for a year and a half, the musical has been running in Vienna, it was the only production with a live orchestra. In 2007, a large-scale Asian tour was undertaken, in which the French troupe visited South Korea and Taiwan. In 2008 a Mexican production opened, in 2009 a Romanian one (directed by Quero). In 2012, the second Asian tour took place in China and Japan. In addition, the musical was staged in Mongolia, Italy, Israel, Slovakia, and the USA.

By the tenth anniversary of the first production in 2010, the play returned to Paris again. The musical has undergone a significant revision. J. Presgurvik combined in the updated score the original version with many changes created over the years of the existence of touring and foreign versions. Thus, the duet of Lady Capulet and the Nurse "Tu dois te marier" changed its playful mood, turning into a tragic monologue of Juliet's mother. Tybalt's part was expanded, he received one more aria, like Mercutio, and the role of Paris, on the contrary, lost vocals. A new final number "Avoir 20 ans" was written. The scenography and costumes have also been redesigned. The actors of the first production took part in this revival - Damien Sarg (Romeo), Tom Ross (Tybalt), Frederic Charte (brother Lorenzo in 2010, Prince - in 2001), Arie Ita (Count Capulet in 2010, understudy for brother Lorenzo and Prince in 2001 ).

"Romeo and Juliet" is one of the few musicals that have had an almost uninterrupted stage life on three continents of the world for 17 years and an unquenchable interest of the public. This is facilitated by a well-known plot, many musical hits, dynamic action, successful staging and a team of high-class performers gushing with creative energy.

Video: watch the musical "Romeo and Juliet"

The most popular version of the musical "Romeo and Juliet" was the original, French production - "Roméo et Juliette - de la Haine à l" Amour ". She received various awards (for example, the Platinum Europe Awards; the musical was nominated for the prize" Victoires de la Musique "2002 in the category "Musical Performance"), songs from the French version have repeatedly taken first places in the charts (including "Aimer", "Les Rois Du Monde", "On Dit Dans La Rue", "Avoir Un Fille" , and "Comment Lui Dire"). The French version of the musical was truly a spectacle. It is one of the most popular French musicals and has seen over a million people. The musical premiered on January 19, 2001 at the Palais des Congres. The musical ran until December 21 2002. The number of sold audio CDs with a recording of the French production of the musical exceeded three and a half million copies only in the first year of implementation, and by now the album has already become multi-platinum. composer Gerard Presgurvik (he wrote the musical "Gone with the Wind"). Gerard Presgurvik wrote not only the music, but also the libretto for the play. The European choreographer Reda was responsible for staging the dances.

In 2002, the musical was staged in Canada, he went to Montreal, Ottawa, Sakuene.

The next version of the musical was in Flemish, premiered in Antwerp, Belgium on September 22, 2002, the musical was called "Romeo en Julia - van Haat tot Liefde". This version was closest to the original French production. The play was so popular in Belgium that after the musical stopped running in Antwerp, the show began a Netherlands tour. In the new version, only a few performers were replaced.

The least close to the French production was the British version of the musical - "Romeo and Juliet - the musical". The music is radically different from the original, the design of the costumes has been changed a lot. This version was poorly received by critics, although people who saw the musical did leave some good feedback. The musical played in London and closed on February 8, 2003, a few months after opening.

Another version of the musical - Hungarian, premiered on January 23, 2004 in Budapest, and a total of 37 performances were played.

The premiere of the Russian production of the musical "Romeo and Juliet: From Hatred to Love" took place on May 20, 2004 at the Operetta Theater in Moscow. Three performers were chosen for each role.

On February 24, 2005, the premiere of the German version of the musical took place in Vienna, Austria. The choreographer is Reda, who also directed the original version of the play. The changes also affected the costumes, which they promised to make unique.

Differences:

Characters:

In french version musical 14 characters - Romeo, Juliet, Benvolio, Mercutio, Tybalt, Lady Montecchi, Lady Capulet, Nurse, Lord Capulet, Father Laurent, Prince, Paris, Poet and Death.

Belgian version: the role of the poet is missing.

UK version: No death, poet, but the role of Lord Montecchi appears.

Canadian version: there is no death and no poet.

Hungarian version: there is no poet and death, the role of Paris is expanded.

Russian version: there is no poet, the role of death is played by a man.

Songs:

Dutch version: Because no poet, no one to sing the song “Le poete”. There are also no Belgian songs "Par Amour", "Le Pouvoir", but there is a reprise of the song "Verona" in the middle of the second act. The Belgian versions of the songs "Duo Due Desespoir" and "Le Chant de L" Alouette" were shortened, and Juliet's part in the song "Le Poison" was extended.

UK version: The musical arrangement is very different from that of the French version. There are no songs "J" ai Peur", "Le Pouvoir" in the English version. There is a repetition of the song "Verona". The aria "Sans Elle" was replaced by a repetition of the aria "All Days Are the Same Without You" ("Un Jour"). Song "Ces" t Pas Ma Faute" was replaced by the song "She Can" t See Me", and the musical arrangement of the composition is completely different. Instead of "Guilty" ("Coupables"), a reprise of "Fools" ("Duo Du Desespoir") is performed. Also there is a reprise of "Ugly and Beautiful" ("Les beaux, les laids"), there is no song "Le Poison" There is no part of Juliet in the aria "All For Love" ("Par Amour").

Canadian version: The arias "C" est Pas Ma Faute" and "Le Balcon" are changed, there are no songs "Le Poet", and "Le Pouvoir".

Hungarian version: Changed the order of some songs. There are 3 reprises, Paris's own song, and his duet with Romeo. The arias "On Dit Dans la Rue" and "La Haine" are combined into one song, which is performed by Lady Montague, Lady Capulet and Tybalt.

Russian version: There are no songs La Folie", "Pourquoi?", and "Par Amour". The song "Le Chant de L"Alouette" is shortened.

Suits:

French version: The costumes of the French version are made in the fashion of the 14th century and a little bit of the 20th century. The colors are modern and the men's suits are made of leather.

Dutch version: Everything is the same as in the French version. Only instead of a pink airy ball gown, Juliet puts on golden dress, more in line with the fashion of the 14th century. The same with wedding dress, which has become white instead of silver-gold, which looks more like a stroller.

British version: The costumes of the artists of the British version of Romeo and Juliet are very different from those of the French and Dutch versions. The costumes of the British version are a mixture of Renaissance, Victorian, Elizabethan and 20th century fashions. The Capulets are dressed in blue and white suits, the Montagues in red and white.

Canadian version: The costumes are virtually identical to those of the French version, except for Juliet's outfits. They are less fancy.

Hungarian version: the costumes are very different from those of the other versions. Some look like dancers from the Moulin Rouge; some costumes seem futuristic (especially Benvolio's costume).

Russian version: the costumes are the same as those of the French version.

Death scene of Romeo and Juliet:

French version: In the French version, after Romeo sings the song "Le Mort de Romeo", Death kisses Romeo. Then Juliet wakes up and sees that Romeo is dead. She performs "La Mort de Juliette", Death hands Juliet Romeo's dagger and she kills herself.

Dutch version: The ending is identical to that of the French version of the musical.

UK version: Romeo kills himself with a dagger, Juliet after performing "Where Rivers Keep Flowing" ("La Mort de Juliette)" kill themselves with the same Romeo.

Canadian version: After singing "La Mort de Romeo", Romeo drinks the poison and falls dead next to Juliet. Juliet finds him dead, puts her lover's head in her lap during the performance of "La Mort de Juliette", and then kills herself with Romeo's dagger.

Hungarian version: Juliet kills herself with Romeo's dagger by cutting the veins in her wrist.

Russian version: Death does not kiss Romeo, because the role of death is played by a man; Juliet kills herself with Romeo's dagger.

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