1 August 2023
Mixed Precipitation brings its annual touring opera production to parks, nature centers and farms around Minnesota after opening “Romeo & Juliet” last weekend at Theodore Wirth Regional Park in Minneapolis.
The production mashes together “I Capuleti e i Montecchi” (“The Capulets and the Montagues”) by Italian composer Vincenzo Bellini, with modern music by bands that have had lasting feuds. Fleetwood Mac — a band notorious for its long-lasting animosity between musicians Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, has a prominent presence in the score, as does the work of the Fugees and former member Lauryn Hill, among others.
Bellini and his librettist, Felice Romani, didn’t base “I Capuleti e i Montecchi” on Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet.” Instead, it’s sourced from a different opera that is based on a play based on a novella. That novella, by Luigi Da Porta, was expanded upon by a different Italian novelist, then translated into a long narrative poem by English poet Arthur Brooke, which was sourced by Shakespeare for his famous play. All that is to say that you don’t get any of Shakespeare’s classic lines. There’s no “But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks?” for example. In fact, there’s no balcony scene at all.
The opera begins in media res, much further along in the plot than Shakespeare’s version. At the start of the show, Romeo has just killed Juliet’s brother, and now Juliet is confronted with having to marry Tebaldo. Romeo and Juliet have already fallen in love at the start of the opera. We get a bit of the backstory later when the chorus play out a flashback using Barbie-like dolls to depict the memory of Juliet’s brother’s death.
In the past, Mixed Precipitation has often taken a creative approach to gender in casting operas. In the case of this particular opera, Bellini’s original version cast Romeo en travesti as a mezzo soprano. Mixed Precipitation does that here, too. Kara Morgan, who shares the role of Romeo with KrisAnne Weiss for the run, brings a steady earnestness and a clear, full voice to her Romeo. Corissa Bussian, meanwhile, who plays Juliet on select nights, captures a buoyancy in her portrayal of Juliet as a social media influencer.
In Mixed Precipitation’s version, Tebaldo (played by Paul Coate) is the assistant associate producer of the Capuleti family, who, like the Montecchi, exploit social media for power and influence in a future dystopian world. As the ingratiating, back-stabbing and insincere character, Coate entertains, and his tenor voice carries through beautifully in an outdoor setting. The singer shifts seamlessly between operatic and contemporary segments. In the duet, “Stolto! A un sol mio grido,” Coate easily moves into a jazzy conclusion. He also plays guitar at various points throughout the show.
Music director and frequent Mixed Precipitation collaborator Gary Ruschman deserves credit for the easy transitions between musical genres. Along with artistic director Scotty Reynolds (who is also in the chorus) and staging director Tara Moses, the piece flows nicely, even as it keeps its tongue-in-cheek style. Comic writer Denzel Belin also has joined the team as a contributing writer. There are clever jokes throughout — both in the spoken dialogue between songs and in the supertitles. Those appear on a large rotating scroll, which unfortunately malfunctioned near the end of the opening night. Before that, the subtitles added lightness and humor to the tragic story.
Mixed Precipitation’s ‘Romeo & Juliet’
Select dates through Sept 10: Thursday, Aug. 3 at 7 p.m. at Bronx Park Community Garden, 2500 Georgia Ave. S., St. Louis Park; Friday, Aug. 4 at 7 p.m. at Caponi Art Park, 1220 Diffley Road, Eagan; Sunday, Aug. 6 at 2 p.m. at Silverwood Park, 2500 County Road E., St. Anthony; Saturday, Sept. 9 at 3 p.m. at Swede Hollow Park, 657 E. Beaumont St., St. Paul.
Tickets: $5-45; mixedprecipitation.org
Capsule: Opera version of “Romeo & Juliet” like you’ve never seen, with Fleetwood Mac, the Fugees and more star-crossed bands.
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