The Utah Review | Park City Opera, featuring Ballet West II Dancers
Park City Opera's recent production of Roméo et Juliette proved the case that this young, ambitious company has the mettle to stage these works with very satisfying results. There were many points of excellence: a solid slate of singers, most notably in the roles of Roméo and Friar Laurence; an orchestra which maximized the score’s it-factor most notably in the last two acts of the opera, and eight Ballet West II dancers who effectively communicated the interior monologues percolating in the characters.
From the prologue onward, which Michael Waldrop of Ballet West Academy choreographed, the eight dancers enriched the musical landscape Gounod had scoped out, especially with his extensive usage of 18th century style elements in the opening ball. The orchestra, led by Benjamin Beckman, artistic director, was marvelous in every act. One could pick out the surprising bits of chromaticism, for instance, which pop up in the third act when Mercutio and Tybalt are murdered.