Roméo et Juliette: Synopsis: Act I

Act I

Scene: Ballroom of the Capulets, Verona (30 Minutes)

Count Capulet is giving a masquerade in honor of his young daughter, Juliette. The guests sing of the pleasures which await them this evening.

"How do you like the party?" asks Tybalt, the host's nephew, of his friend, Count Paris. "You haven't seen the prize yet, though I understand she is destined for you."

"I am sure I shall love her," answers Paris. When Capulet leads his daughter in the room, she indeed becomes the center of attention. Capulet cheerfully invites the guests to dance in the nearby rooms and is delighted to leave Paris to escort Juliette.
When the room is finally cleared, Mercutio and Romeo, son of the house of Montague, enter with a few companions, all wearing masks.

"No one must know we are here," warns Romeo prudently, though the foolhardy Mercutio hints that it would be easy to fight their way out of any trouble with the quarrelsome Capulets.

Romeo is uneasy. He explains that he recently had an ominous dream. Mercutio suggests that Mab, Queen of the Fairies, is responsible:

Suddenly, as his friends tease him about a former sweetheart, Romeo catches sight of Juliette.

"Never have I seen beauty before," he murmurs passionately, while the friends laugh at his change of fancy.

They draw aside to watch the approach of Juliette with her old nurse. "I wish to live in the dreams of my youth," exclaims the girl, to the swirling rhythm of the famous waltz.