The Auditorio de Tenerife premieres Roméo et Juliette, an opera by Charles Gounod, as a new in-house production within the institution’s operatic repertoire. Performances will take place on Sunday 15, Tuesday 17, Thursday 19, and Saturday 21 March at 7:30 p.m. in the Sala Sinfónica.

The Island Councilor for Culture, José Carlos Acha, attended one of the working sessions, where he met with the stage and musical directors, André Heller-Lopes and José Luis Gómez, respectively, as well as members of the singing cast, led by Tenerife tenor Airam Hernández and Navarre soprano Sofía Esparza in the two principal roles. This production also features the Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife, the Coro Titular Ópera de Tenerife Intermezzo, and a dance company from the Centro Internacional de Danza Tenerife.

Brazilian director André Heller-Lopes explained his vision to the councilor, noting that he will transport the audience to a 19th-century Parisian theatre with its gilded balconies, including the essential presence of Juliette. However, this space, representing a past full of opulence, will appear at the back as if under restoration—a metaphor for the younger generation who must inhabit and redefine it, just as the protagonists confront inherited family grudges. All of this situates the work in the 1960s and 1970s within the Auditorio de Tenerife.

To bring these ideas to life at the Auditorio de Tenerife, Heller-Lopes worked with set designer Renato Theobaldo and lighting designer Gonzalo Córdova. Costume designer Sofia di Nunzio completes the team, alongside Franklin Dávalos, assistant stage director and choreographer. Additionally, the Auditorio de Tenerife has enabled students from three Canarian schools to participate in constructing elements of the set: IES La Orotava-Manuel González Pérez, IES Mencey Acaymo in Güímar, and CIFP Tony Gallardo in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

In addition to Airam Hernández as Roméo Montaigu and Sofía Esparza as Juliette Capulet, the solo voices include bass-baritone Simón Orfila as Frère Laurent, baritone Fernando Campero as Mercutio, mezzo-soprano Christina Campsall as Stéphano, and mezzo-soprano Belén Elvira as Gertrude.

The cast is completed by baritone Anton Keremidtchiev as Comte Capulet, tenor Mario Bahg as Tybalt, tenor Manuel Gómez Ruiz as Benvolio, bass Guillermo Montecino as Grégorio, baritone Romanas Kudriašovas as Pâris, and bass-baritone Mikhail Biryukov as Le Duc di Verona. The musical direction is by José Luis Gómez, who will conduct the Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife, while the choir is led by Miguel Ángel Arqued.

Shakespeare’s tragedy Romeo and Juliet evokes musical Romanticism; however, intergenerational conflict is the central theme defining this production. The set design offers an alternative reading of the libretto, focusing on the antagonism between generations: adults bound by their own violences within a patriarchal and misogynistic environment, and young people who confront this legacy of hatred through the love shared by Roméo and Juliette. This is an opera of musical and theatrical contrasts, of light and darkness.

Gounod’s music displays a style that fuses the lyricism of Italian opera with the refined elegance of the French tradition, serving as the thread that carries a vision extending beyond a mere love story. The orchestra reinforces both the singing and the drama with clear articulations and dynamic contrasts, while the choir not only supports the dramatic action but also actively participates in it.

Tickets are available on the website www.auditoriodetenerife.com, at the box office from Monday to Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and on Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., as well as by phone at 902 317 327 during the same hours. Discounts are available, among others, for those under 30, students, job seekers, and large families.

For the second consecutive season, the Cabildo has launched the Lanzadera Ópera, offering free transport with two TITSA buses departing from Adeje and Buenavista, with the Auditorio de Tenerife as the destination for all performances included in the Ópera de Tenerife subscription series. Free tickets can be obtained at www.operadetenerife.com.

Ópera de Tenerife is an initiative of the Cabildo Insular—through the Auditorio de Tenerife—and is sponsored by the Instituto Canario de Desarrollo Cultural of the Government of the Canary Islands and the Instituto Nacional de las Artes Escénicas y de la Música (INAEM) of the Spanish Government.