Cast aside your preconceived notions of operatic adaptations of Romeo and Juliet. Riccardo Zandonai dramatically pares down Shakespeare's cast, choosing to focus almost exclusively on the doomed lovers. The result is less a chronicle of events and more a psychological exploration—Romeo by way of Tristan. While this lends the opera a certain dramatic stasis, it also opens the door to moments of striking musical beauty.

Zandonai's score unfolds like an impressionistic dreamscape, untethered from a specific time or place. His inventive orchestration and fluid harmonic language create a lush sonic world, more evocative than literal. The singers assembled for this performance make a strong case for the work. Angelo Lo Forese's Romeo, more heroic than youthful, aligns with Zandonai's mature vision of the character, while Renato Capecchi makes a vivid impression as Tebaldo, lending urgency to one of the few supporting roles that remain.