{"id":117395,"date":"2025-09-09T13:19:12","date_gmt":"2025-09-09T17:19:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=117395"},"modified":"2025-09-10T08:00:02","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T12:00:02","slug":"interview-director-amy-lane-canadian-opera-companys-romeo-et-juliette","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2025\/09\/09\/interview-director-amy-lane-canadian-opera-companys-romeo-et-juliette\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | Director Amy Lane On The Canadian Opera Company\u2019s Rom\u00e9o Et Juliette"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"A
A scene from Rom\u00e9o et Juliette, Malm\u00f6 Opera, 2022 (Photo: \u00a9 Jonas Persson)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Canadian Opera Company will present Gounod\u2019s Rom\u00e9o et Juliette, bringing the romantic tragedy back to the company after a hiatus of more than three decades. UK-based Amy Lane directs, with tenor Stephen Costello and soprano Kseniia Proshina in the title roles.<\/p>\n

The COC production, a rental from Malm\u00f6 Opera, sets the feuding families in New York City during the Gilded Age, opening on New Year\u2019s Eve 1889. The wealthy Capulet family have invited everyone who is anyone to a fabulous circus-themed party, where Capulet daughter Juliette meets Rom\u00e9o.<\/p>\n

Rom\u00e9o, however, is part of the immigrant Montague family, enemies of the Capulets, and the two families are grappling over business, and who will dominate the darker side of the city.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an intriguing set up for the classic tale of love, vengeance, and tragedy. The COC\u2019s production takes the stage from September 27 to October 18.<\/p>\n

We spoke to director Amy Lane about the opera.<\/p>\n

\"Director
Director Amy Lane (Photo: Martin Paulsson, Malm\u00f6 Opera 2022)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Director Amy Lane<\/h2>\n

As a young singer, Amy Lane performed in the UK with The Royal Opera, English National Opera, British Youth Opera, and Opera Holland Park.<\/p>\n

The native of London kick started her career behind the scenes in stage management, and worked for several years in productions in the city’s fabled West End. She joined The Royal Opera in 2005, and became involved in more than 25 productions. She has directed for both the stage and videos.<\/p>\n

Her work has become known for its bold take on design, and use of projections. She adds a modern take to traditional opera repertoire.<\/p>\n

The award-winning opera director has worked extensively with The Royal Opera House, Longborough Festival Opera, Welsh National Opera, English National Opera, Opera North and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as internationally with companies such as Le Chatelet in Paris, Royal Danish Opera in Copenhagen and the Bregenz Festival in Austria. Amy was the Head Staff Director at The Royal Opera Covent Garden for five years, and is the Artistic Director of the Copenhagen Opera Festival.<\/p>\n

Toronto audiences are already familiar with her work. She took over the COC\u2019s revival of Kasper Holten\u2019s Don Giovianni in winter 2024, and directed the COC\u2019s fall 2024 production of Faust.<\/p>\n

Amy Lane: The Interview<\/h3>\n

\u201cThe theme is quite simple. It’s love, and love conquering all barriers, all divides,\u201d Lane says of the opera.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s got a sympathetic view of the titular characters.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey’re such tiny beings in this huge world of their parents.\u201d The setting, New York City, helps to reinforce the idea of two people in a much bigger world. They\u2019re caught up in a feud which has spun out of control.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are the catalysts,\u201d she says. \u201cThey are change makers, unfortunately, only through their demise.\u201d<\/p>\n

The real tragedy is that change can only happen through such violent events, and their young ages and vulnerability are integral to the process.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt takes youth to rid ourselves with what we’ve carried for so long,\u201d Amy says. \u201cIt’s fascinating who says what, and who provokes.\u201d Juliette is the one who brings the situation to a head. \u201cShe really pushes the story along.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Sehoon
Sehoon Moon as Rom\u00e9o and Kseniia Proshina as Juliette in Rom\u00e9o et Juliette, Malm\u00f6 Opera, 2022
(Photo: \u00a9 Jonas Persson)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Setting<\/h3>\n

\u201cWe’ve set it very specifically on New Year’s Eve in 1889,\u201d Lane explains. \u201cEverybody makes promises on New Year’s Eve.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a moment of promise and potential.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat interested us, was, of course, the feud between the families.\u201d<\/p>\n

As she points out, there are some differences between Gounod\u2019s opera and the Shakespearean play many are familiar with.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don’t meet Lord Montague in the opera,\u201d she notes. \u201cWe were interested in what this feud is, and what this feud can be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Putting immigration, and a clash between newcomers and established residents, may put a timely spin on the story now, but the same was also true during the so-called Gilded Age.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was really an interesting time,\u201d Lane says. She notes there was a huge influx of Italian immigrants to the US during the period. \u201cWhat happens if the Capulets are New Yorkers, and the Montagues are from Italy?\u201d<\/p>\n

Team Capulet has a huge presence in the city, whereas the Montagues are isolated, adding to the story\u2019s tensions. Ditto the star-crossed couple, who are alone in their desire to be united.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe tininess of Romeo and Juliet. If you can imaging two small souls growing up in a large city,\u201d she says, \u201cbut they want to make change.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Sehoon
Sehoon Moon as Rom\u00e9o and Kseniia Proshina as Juliette in Rom\u00e9o et Juliette, Malm\u00f6 Opera, 2022
(Photo: \u00a9 Jonas Persson)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A Travelling Team<\/h3>\n

Opera and theatrical directors tend to work with the same creative team members over time. Lane\u2019s frequent collaborators include set and costume designer Emma Ryott<\/strong>, lighting designer Charlie Morgan Jones<\/strong>, and others have been travelling and creating together for years.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s a travelling team and a travelling family,\u201d Lane says. \u201cWe have a wonderful language among us, but we also have a wonderful way of challenging each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lane says she begins the process of working on a production on her own.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will sit with a piece a good time by myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Once she\u2019s got some ideas to work with, she says she takes them to Emma Ryott, who will then both develop and challenge those initial thoughts.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe begin to build a world together.\u201d That\u2019s aided by Emma\u2019s library of reference books. Once the world of the production begins to take shape, the team expands to include a movement director, lighting designer, and others.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all come over here, and we spend two to three solid days going through every single beat and bar,\u201d she says. \u201cThat’s right at the beginning of the process. It’s incredibly collaborative.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also a rewarding process when you\u2019re working with the right people.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Rom\u00e9o et Juliette is our 25th production,\u201d she says. Each addition to the team brings another element. \u201cIt’s never one person, one idea, one thought,\u201d Lane adds. \u201cA lot of the work of course seems hidden. [But] there is no opera that is existing without a stage management team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lane praises the COC\u2019s own resident backstage team. \u201cAnd they are so essential to bringing our show to life,\u201d she says. \u201cWe are so looking forward to returning and working with this company.\u201d<\/p>\n

Final Thoughts<\/h3>\n

It\u2019s also, of course, about the music.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just think this opera score is one of the most beautiful,\u201d Lane says. It will be the third time that she\u2019s worked on the same production. \u201cIt will never, ever be exactly the same,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat’s one of the best things about returning to a production.\u201d<\/p>\n