Zingarelli : Roméo et Juliette

Niccolò Antonio Zingarelli (1752-1837) Romeo and Juliet Napoleon's favourite opera Napoleon's opera Who has not been seized by the loves of Romeo and Juliet?

Niccolò Antonio Zingarelli (1752-1837)

Romeo and Juliet

Napoleon's favourite opera

Napoleon's opera

Who has not been seized by the loves of Romeo and Juliet? Napoleon, that great man of war, with his little-known passion for the arts and Italian opera, is no exception!

Nicolò Balducci and Juliette Mey reunite the formidable duo of the castrato Crescentini and the adored Grassini in this opera by Zingarelli. Napoleon's fervour for opera was extreme. Captivated by the opera Romeo and Juliet, this great music lover summoned to his side a young Italian star, the contralto Giuseppina Grassini, and the most dazzling castrato of all: Girolamo Crescentini, the only singer able to move the Emperor to tears.

Invited to France from 1806 to 1812, Crescentini gave glorious evenings at the Chapelle Impériale in the Tuileries alongside Grassini, who was named First Singer to His Majesty the Emperor – and his mistress. Napoleon's musical passion lay with Italian opera: one hundred and forty-three recitals by Italian soloists at Court between 1810 and 1815 bear witness to it!

The showpiece of Grassini and Crescentini was Zingarelli's opera Giulietta e Romeo, premiered at La Scala in 1796, then performed many times in Paris before Napoleon by his two favourite singers. "They stir heroism in me," Napoleon said.

This star duo of the Empire returns to life with Nicolò Balducci and Juliette Mey: the revival of this utterly forgotten opera by Zingarelli, which enjoyed triumph across Europe for three decades, thanks to sumptuous bel canto. Here is Napoleon's opera!