★★★☆☆ Dutoit is polished and sophisticated, with detailed playing, but where's the drama?

Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet excerpts

Listeners are spoiled for choice with Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet, especially if you're looking for highlights instead of the whole ballet.  There are sumptuous, virtuosic accounts with the Berlin Phil under both Abbado and Salonen  The work is such an orchestral blockbuster that it almost plays itself now, but I remain a believer in the greatness of the work, and still find it emotionally moving.

Despite acclaim from multiple critical circles, this reading sounds dispassionate to me.
 Reviewers have cited Dutoit's clean, vivid way with the score, and I'll oblige that textures are balanced superbly, the Montreal Orchestra playing with clarity and detail.  But I find Dutoit emotionally removed, for all the color of his reading.  It's telling that a positive reviewer on Amazon admits that this reading lacks connection with the story of the two lovers, finding it thrilling for its sheer orchestral brilliance.

I can accept that some may find acclimation with Dutoit's world, but I find it nearly grating to listen to this piece played without hints of passion or lovesick danger.   A quick comparison with Abbado, my personal favorite, shows what drama Dutoit chooses to leave out.  I'd go as far as to say that Dutoit ultimately sounds limp.  The idea of a French reading highlighting sophistication seems convincing enough, but the execution here sacrifices far too much to still keep my attention.

So, risking flak from fellow listeners, I can only fairly report that this CD left me unmoved, and I actually had to make myself listen all the way through.  Refinement and polish are here in abundance, but don't expect any acclimation with the story line.