The tomb scene from I Capuleti e i Montecchi by Vincenzo Bellini. Filmed on location at the Thames Brunel Tunnel Shaft, London, by Stanza Media, supported by the BBC, British Council, and Arts Council England.
Stage Direction: James Hurley
Romeo: Flora McKintosh
Giulietta: Alice Privett
Pianist: Richard Leech
"Using just a handful of props, director James Hurley creates a contemporary gangland setting, riven by revenge and brutality. He also draws some impressively detailed acting from the performers… [the] tomb scene is as emotionally wrenching as in any staging I’ve seen. Some of the audience were openly sobbing; my own eyes were pricking. Bellini must have been looking down in delight… It’s opera without the frills, pared down to the thrills."
BLOUIN ARTINFO
"...the production, directed by James Hurley, is stripped to the essential tale of teenage love clashing with parental opposition… In the bare space of theatre in the round, all is concentrated on the emotion and the singing."
SUNDAY EXPRESS
"This is Romeo and Juliet as you've never seen it before - more brutal and gruelling than anything Shakespeare ever penned - and performed so close up that the singers voices and faces full of angst hover just before you. This is an absolute must-see, an 'in the know' delight that we would like to go back and watch every night of the week."
CULTURE WHISPER