Nicole Cabell and Joyce DiDonato Star in San Francisco Opera's I CAPULETI E I MONTECCHI, Out Today on DVD/Blu-ray

San Francisco, CA -- Soprano Nicole Cabell and mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato star as the ill-fated lovers Giulietta and Romeo in Vincenzo Bellini's bel canto opera I Capuleti e i Montecchi (The Capulets and the Montagues) in San Francisco Opera's new video release in partnership with EuroArts Music International. Cabell and DiDonato are joined by Albanian tenor Samir Pirgu (Tebaldo), American bass-baritone Eric Owens (Capellio) and Chinese baritone Ao Li (Lorenzo). The production is directed by Vincent Boussard and conducted by Riccardo Frizza, with sets by Vincent Lemaire and costumes by Christian Lacroix. Recorded live at the War Memorial Opera House in October 2012, the recording also features bonus material including interviews with Nicole Cabell and Joyce DiDonato. Distributed on DVD and Blu-ray by Naxos of America, I Capuleti e i Montecchi is now available at all major retailers and the San Francisco Opera Shop (shop.sfopera.com).

Inspired by the tragic tale of Romeo and Juliet, I Capuleti e i Montecchi stars BBC Cardiff Singer of the World-winner Nicole Cabell as Giulietta. The American soprano made her role debut with this production: "For sheer sumptuous gorgeousness, Cabell's voice is hard to beat: 'Oh! Quante volte'...was exquisite, filled with soaring and silky arabesques. This is Cabell's debut with San Francisco Opera -- and her first time singing this role, anywhere. Remarkable" (San Jose Mercury News).

Celebrated American mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, an alumna of the Merola Opera Program, returns to the Company in the role of Romeo. DiDonato "is a true Golden Age singer with a sizable voice whose wide range extends from grave lows to thrilling highs. She also has an oft-astounding gift for coloratura ornamentation, fierce intelligence, and deep emotional commitment to her music" (San Francisco Classical Voice). The Classical Review wrote of the pair: "In her company debut, Cabell brings a luscious, dark, and voluminous soprano with plenty of spin to Giulietta...She executed Giulietta's music with the requisite grace and pathos, not to mention a beautiful trill and fine high notes. DiDonato...is her generation's great exponent of pants roles, her masculine swagger and penetrating, slightly reedy voice making her a riveting figure on stage. She's also one of the great living virtuosos in florid music; there seems to be nothing she can't sing with utter ease and confidence....Together, the two made a splendid romantic couple."

Italian conductor Riccardo Frizza "conducted with spirit and sensitivity, and drew lustrous playing from the Opera Orchestra" (San Francisco Chronicle). The bel canto specialist, whose "conducting exactly matches Cabell and DiDonato's marvelous singing" (The Classical Review), made his Company debut in 2011 with Lucrezia Borgia featuring Renée Fleming, also released on video by EuroArts last year. "Many conductors try their hand at bel canto, but few deliver the extremely pliable tempos, understanding of nuance, and way with light and shade that Riccardo Frizza brought to the score. Showing supreme respect for his artists, Frizza molded Bellini's vocal line to the extent his singers allowed, lingering over notes and phrases without once becoming mannered. The man clearly loves bel canto writing, and understands its ultimate potential" (San Francisco Classical Voice).

The "attractive hipster production" (San Jose Mercury News) is directed by Vincent Boussard in his U.S. debut. The Bavarian State Opera/San Francisco Opera co-production premiered in Munich in March 2011 and features sets created by French opera, theater and dance designer Vincent Lemaire and stunning costumes by renowned fashion designer Christian Lacroix, a frequent collaborator with Boussard known for both his couture designs and his theater, ballet and opera costumes.

I Capuleti e i Montecchi is the fifth DVD/Blu-ray release in San Francisco Opera's collaboration with EuroArts Music International (euroarts.com) and Naxos of America (naxosusa.com). The Company's critically lauded productions of Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer's Moby-Dick and Gaetano Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia were released in 2013, followed by The Gershwins' Porgy And BessSM in March 2014 and Arrigo Boito's Mefistofele, featuring Ildar Abdrazakov, Ramón Vargas and Patricia Racette, last September. Slated for release in spring 2015 is Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II's Show Boat, directed by Francesca Zambello and featuring an ensemble cast spanning the worlds of opera and Broadway including Heidi Stober, Michael Todd Simpson, Patricia Racette, Bill Irwin, Harriet Harris, Morris Robinson and Angela Renée Simpson. For more information and video clips of San Francisco Opera's media releases, go to sfopera.com.

DETAILS:

SAN FRANCISCO OPERA / I CAPULETI E I MONTECCHI

By Vincenzo Bellini; libretto by Felice Romani

Conductor: Riccardo Frizza

Artists: Cast includes Nicole Cabell (Giulietta); Joyce DiDonato (Romeo); Saimir Pirgu (Tebaldo); Eric Owens (Capellio); Ao Li (Lorenzo); San Francisco Opera Orchestra (Laura Albers, Acting Concertmaster); San Francisco Opera Chorus (Ian Robertson, Chorus Director)

Stage Director/Production: Vincent Boussard / Bavarian State Opera and San Francisco Opera co-

Stage Production Team: Vincent Lemaire (Set Designer); Christian Lacroix (Costume Designer); Guido Levi (Lighting Designer)

Directed for the Screen by: Frank Zamacona

Recorded: Live at San Francisco Opera/War Memorial Opera House, October 2012

Running Time: 135 minutes; plus additional 16 minutes of bonus material including interviews with Nicole Cabell and Joyce DiDonato

Subtitles: Sung in Italian, with English/German/French/Italian subtitles

Label: EuroArts; distributed by Naxos of America

Catalogue Number: DVD 2059668 / Blu-ray 2059664

Release date: Today, October 28, 2014; available at all major retailers, including Amazon, and the San Francisco Opera Shop (shop.sfopera.com)

San Francisco Opera's I Capuleti e i Montecchi was recorded live in high-definition utilizing the facilities of the Koret-Taube Media Suite at San Francisco's War Memorial Opera House.

Pictured: I Capuleti e i Montecchi - Joyce DiDonato (Romeo) and Nicole Cabell (Giulietta). Photo by Cory Weaver.

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