The world of opera moves slowly, with lots of advance planning. It was nearlytwo years agothat stage director Shawna Lucey was named as the general director of Opera San José, and only now has she been able to put her first directorial project on the stage.
The company’s season will open with “Romeo and Juliet,” Gounod’s timelessly tuneful treatment of the Shakespeare tragedy. Lucey’s production promises to be a traditional one, with a focus on the emotional interplay between the leads in the tumultuous context of Verona.
Sharing the role of Juliet are two sopranos who have appeared with the company before, Melissa Sondhi and Jasmine Habersham. Tenor Joshua Sanders, an artist-in-residence, will be Romeo, with Efraín Solís as Mercutio, Alex Boyer as Tybalt and Vartan Gabrielian as Friar Laurence. Music Director Joseph Marcheso is scheduled to conduct.