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Suite from Romeo and Juliet |
Composed: 1935 Estimated length: 47 minutes |
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Born on April 23, 1891, in Sontsovka, Ukraine (then part of the Russian Empire); Died on March 5, 1953, in Moscow, Russia |
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First performance: December 30, 1938, in Brno (then part of Czechoslovakia) |
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First Nashville Symphony performance: October 12, 1978, with Michael Charry conducting at War Memorial Auditorium. |
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No matter how familiar it is, the scenario of “star-cross’d lovers” in Romeo and Juliet remains an inexhaustible source of inspiration across the arts, from literature to ballet, film, and even manga. Composers in particular have shown a strong attraction to Shakespeare’s tragedy from 1597.
Music for a ballet version of Romeo and Juliet provided the vehicle for Sergei Prokofiev’s first major work specifically intended for the Soviet stage. Homesickness for his native homeland had caused the composer to return to the Soviet Union in the mid-1930s (after nearly two decades in voluntary exile abroad). He composed the score in an outburst of inspiration during the summer of 1935, rejecting the envelope-pushing experiments of his early career in favor of a “new simplicity,” as Prokofiev termed it—a style, that is, intended to be more accessible, though without sacrificing originality and substance.
A newfound lyricism and directness thus permeates Romeo and Juliet. The score features an abundance of touching melodies alongside thrilling, dramatic scenes that convey the swift, violent actions that move the story along. Still, Prokofiev faced roadblocks, and the Soviet premiere was delayed until 1940, so the first (abridged) staging took place in 1938 in what was Czechoslovakia at the time. The composer meanwhile extracted a pair of orchestral suites in order to present his music to the Russian public in the concert hall; in 1946 he introduced a third suite as well. Conductors typically create their own suite by mixing and matching from among the three published suites. Giancarlo Guerrero has selected numbers from the first two suites.
WHAT TO LISTEN FOR
We begin with the ominous swagger of Montagues and Capulets from the first act, which establishes the violent context of the streets of Verona, where the two families are implacably at war. It is in this context that the young love of Romeo and Juliet so improbably, yet inevitably, is shown to blossom. The ensuing playful depiction of the innocent Young Juliet also hints at her capacity for deep feeling.
Madrigal and Minuet (the latter accompanying the arrival of the guests) set the scene for the fateful ball hosted by the Capulets, Juliet’s family. Prokofiev draws on his neoclassical vein in this dance music. Masks portrays Romeo, sole son of the Montagues, having fun with his friends Mercutio and Benvolio as they prepare to make an uninvited appearance at the ball.
Romeo and Juliet meet and later profess their love during the stirring balcony scene—the epitome of Prokofiev’s “new simplicity.” The incandescent lyricism of this music is scored with ravishing beauty, including woodwinds that chirp like a celestial clock for the lovers who want time to stand still. The music takes a dark turn in the Death of Tybalt, anticipating West Side Story: to avenge the killing of Mercutio, who has dueled on his behalf, Romeo slays this ill-fated cousin of Juliet.
Friar Laurence, a kindhearted Franciscan, had hoped to make lasting peace by joining the young lovers in marriage. But a new complication results when Romeo is forced into exile for killing Tybalt, and the misfortunate timing of the good Friar’s plan sets the ultimate tragedy in motion. Romeo with Juliet before Parting, on the eve of his departure from Verona, radiates the intensity of their passion.
Friar Laurence has given Juliet a potion to fake death and thus save her from forced marriage to the unwanted suitor Paris. But in Romeo at the Tomb of Juliet, the hero, who has not received word of the plan in time, finds his beloved’s apparently lifeless body at the family crypt. After slaying Paris, Romeo commits suicide. As Juliet regains consciousness, she discovers Romeo’s corpse and in turn kills herself. Prokofiev exploits music’s unique capacity to evoke sudden memories to underscore the inconsolable grief that his characters—and we, in turn—experience.
Scored for 2 flutes and piccolo, 2 oboes and English horn, 2 clarinets and bass clarinet, tenor saxophone, 2 bassoons and contrabassoon, 4 horns 2 trumpets and cornet, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, harp, piano, and strings
− Thomas May is the Nashville Symphony's program annotator.
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