A renewed take on the myth of Romeo and Juliet that turns love into an almost sacrilegious gesture in a world marked by pride and violence
“True love is always a heresy against the established order”
Pier Paolo Pasolini
With I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Bellini offers a renewed vision of the Romeo and Juliet myth, transforming love into an almost sacrilegious act in a world marked by pride and violence. Allex Aguilera’s production for the Opéra Royal Wallonie-Liège comes to the Liceu under the musical direction of Riccardo Frizza, featuring Lisette Oropesa and Raffaella Lupinacci, two leading figures in today’s bel canto scene.
The opera moves away from Shakespearean romanticism and belongs instead to the Italian tradition of conflict between rival factions, in which hatred is a destiny rather than a circumstance. Within this tense environment, the secret love between Giulietta and Romeo becomes a force that challenges social norms. To those around them, their love is almost an offence, a fracture in the established order. Love is sacred because it is free, yet it is perceived as sacrilegious because it calls into question the values that uphold family honour.
Bellini transforms this clash into music that breathes with delicacy. His long, ethereal melodies seem to suspend time itself, as though seeking to protect the lovers from a world that condemns them before listening to them. This intimate soundscape turns the drama into a reflection on vulnerability, resilience and the desire to find truth amid chaos.
The ending, marked by the suicide of the two young lovers, takes on a ritual meaning: a final act of fidelity that the world has failed to understand. Death thus becomes a space of ultimate union, where life has denied them the possibility of loving one another freely.
Allex Aguilera’s production explores Juliet’s tragic emancipation through a powerful visual metaphor: from the box that symbolizes social conventions to the sheet of water at the front of the stage, evoking the tragic destinies of doomed heroes. This aquatic scenography creates sublime mirror effects and offers the heroine a fatal liberation in which the myths of Narcissus and Ophelia resonate.
I Capuleti e i Montecchi: a staged prayer in which love seeks a silence of its own amid the noise of conflict.
Lyric tragedy in two acts
Libretto by Felice Romani
- World premiere: 11 March 1830 at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice
- Premiere in Barcelona: 14 July 1832 at the Gran Teatre del Liceu
- Last performance at the Liceu: 1 June 2016
- Total performances at the Liceu: 34
With the support of:
Dates and tickets
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| LiceuOPERA+ | Estrena digital |
Due to adjustments in the production conditions, it has not been possible to maintain the original schedule, which envisaged presenting Adrian Noble’s production from La Scala in Milan. The Gran Teatre del Liceu will present stage director Allex Aguilera’s production of I Capuleti e i Montecchi by Vincenzo Bellini, which premiered at the Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège in 2024.
General public sale on Monday 15 June 2026 at 10h.
Artistic profile
- Stage direction and set design
- Allex Aguilera
- Costumes
- Françoise Raybaud
- Lighting
- Luis Perdiguero
- Video
- Arnaud Pottier
- Production
- Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège
- Chorus of the Gran Teatre del Liceu
- Director Pablo Assante
- Orchestra of the Gran Teatre del Liceu
- Conductor Riccardo Frizza and Sasha Yankevych (10 November)
Cast
Special sessions
Breathing opera
Breathing opera is a 30-minute guided session, led by coach Mònica Arús, with the soundscape of music therapist Núria Andorrà, in which we will practise simple breathing, relaxation and mindfulness exercises to enter a state of calm and openness that helps us enjoy the performance with presence and awareness.
Friday 30 October
18:30 h (Access via the entrance on Carrer Sant Pau 15 minutes before the session starts)
Buy the full experience here: mindfulness session + opera performance.
Liceu OPERA+
Liceu OPERA+ subscribers will be able to enjoy the live broadcast of I Capuleti e i Montecchi by Vincenzo Bellini at the Liceu, with stage direction by Adrian Noble and conducted by Maestro Riccardo Frizza.
Once edited, it will remain available on demand for subscribers.
Sunday 22 November: Digital premiere
Audiodescription
Live audio description service in one performance of each staged opera, providing information on key visual elements for the benefit of blind and visually impaired audience members. The service consists of two parts: an audio introduction fifteen minutes before the start of the performance, and simultaneous audio description during the performance.
LiveVoice app
To listen to the audio description, simply click on Audiodescripció at the Liceu, or enter the LiveVoice app and use the code: 075177.
Sunday 11 November
19:30 h
COMING SOON