GOUNOD, Charles 1818-1893

Roméo et Juliette Opéra en 5 Actes de J. Barbier et M. Carré ... Partition Chant et Piano Transcrite par Hector Salomon ... Théâtre National de l'Opéra. [Piano-vocal score]

Paris: Choudens Père et Fils [PN A.C. 1411], [ca. 1873].

Large octavo. Quarter red morocco with matching pebbled paper boards with crown and "M" gilt to upper, spine in gilt-ruled compartments, titling gilt, marbled endpapers. 1f. (recto title, verso publisher's notes), [1] (named cast list for performances in April 1867 and January 1873), 2-249, [i] (blank), 251-290 (supplement).

With attractive engraved armorial bookplate of the Duke of Massa (possibly Alfred, 1837-1913) to front pastedown.

Binding slightly worn, rubbed, and bumped; foot of spine frayed; joints splitting. Significantly browned throughout; tears to inner margins of first two leaves.

First performed in Paris at the Lyrique on 27 April 1867 to a libretto by Barbier and Carré after Shakespeare.

Gounod's "Roméo et Juliette contains four exquisite soprano-tenor duets, a number almost certainly unprecedented in 19th-century opera and a harbinger of the prominence of love duets in such works as Massenet’s Manon and Werther; to Gounod’s great credit each has a distinct musico-dramatic ambience and shape." Steven Huebner in Grove Music Online.

Item #36762

Price: $30.00  other currencies