''Romeo and Juliet'' (russian: Ромео и Джульетта, Romeo i Dzhulyetta), Op. 64, is a
ballet
Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...
by
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, p ...
based on
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's play ''
Romeo and Juliet
''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...
''. First composed in 1935, it was substantially revised for its Soviet premiere in early 1940. Prokofiev reused music from the ballet in three suites for
orchestra
An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families.
There are typically four main sections of instruments:
* bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...
and a solo piano work.
Background and premiere
Based on a synopsis created by
Adrian Piotrovsky
Adrian Ivanovich Piotrovsky (russian: Адриа́н Ива́нович Пиотро́вский) ( – 21 November 1937) was a Russian Soviet dramaturge, responsible for creating the synopsis for Sergei Prokofiev's ballet '' Romeo and Juliet''. He ...
(who first suggested the subject to Prokofiev) and Sergey Radlov, the ballet was composed by Prokofiev in September 1935 to their scenario which followed the precepts of "drambalet" (dramatised ballet, officially promoted at the
Kirov Ballet
The Mariinsky Ballet (russian: Балет Мариинского театра) is the resident classical ballet company of the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Founded in the 18th century and originally known as the Imperial Russ ...
to replace works based primarily on choreographic display and innovation). Following Radlov's acrimonious resignation from the Kirov in June 1934, a new agreement was signed with the
Bolshoi Theatre
The Bolshoi Theatre ( rus, Большо́й теа́тр, r=Bol'shoy teatr, literally "Big Theater", p=bɐlʲˈʂoj tʲɪˈatər) is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, originally designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds ballet and ope ...
in Moscow on the understanding that Piotrovsky would remain involved.
However, the ballet's original happy ending (contrary to
Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
) provoked controversy among Soviet cultural officials. The ballet's production was then postponed indefinitely when the staff of the Bolshoi was overhauled at the behest of the chairman of the Committee on Arts Affairs,
Platon Kerzhentsev
Platon Mikhailovich Kerzhentsev (russian: Плато́н Миха́йлович Ке́рженцев), (real name Lebedev (Ле́бедев), pseudonym V. Kerzhentsev) (4 August 1881 – 2 June 1940) was a Soviet state and party official, rev ...
. The ballet's failure to be produced in the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
until 1940 may also have been a result of consequences in the performing arts following ''
Pravda
''Pravda'' ( rus, Правда, p=ˈpravdə, a=Ru-правда.ogg, "Truth") is a Russian broadsheet newspaper, and was the official newspaper of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, when it was one of the most influential papers in the co ...
's''
denunciation
Denunciation (from Latin ''denuntiare'', "to denounce") is the act of publicly assigning to a person the blame for a perceived wrongdoing, with the hope of bringing attention to it.
Notably, centralized social control in authoritarian states re ...
of
Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his Symphony No. 1 (Shostakovich), First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throug ...
in 1936, as well as other "degenerate modernists" including Piotrovsky. The conductor
Yuri Fayer Yuri Fyodorovich Fayer (also seen as Faier) (3 August 1971), was a Soviet conductor specializing in ballet. He was the chief ballet conductor at the Bolshoi Theatre from 1923 to 1963.
Fayer's range extended from the classical repertoire (he conduc ...
met with Prokofiev frequently during the writing of the music, and he strongly urged the composer to revert to the traditional ending. Fayer went on to conduct the first performance of the ballet at the Bolshoi Theatre.
Suites of the ballet music were heard in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
and the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, but the full ballet premiered in the
Mahen Theatre
Mahen Theatre ( cs, Mahenovo divadlo) is a Czech theatre situated in the city of Brno. Mahen Theatre, built as German ''Deutsches Stadttheater'' in 1882, was one of the first public buildings in the world lit entirely by electric light. Ort (200 ...
,
Brno
Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
), on 30 December 1938. This version was a single-act production with music mainly from the first two suites. Prokofiev was not able to attend the premiere due to his status of outbound restriction.
The history of the creation of the ballet was recited by the composer
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, p ...
himself:
1940 Kirov production
It is better known today from the significantly revised version that was first presented at the
Kirov Theatre
The Mariinsky Theatre ( rus, Мариинский театр, Mariinskiy teatr, also transcribed as Maryinsky or Mariyinsky) is a historic theatre of opera and ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music th ...
(now Mariinsky Theatre) in
Leningrad
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
(now Saint Petersburg) on 11 January 1940, with choreography by
Leonid Lavrovsky
Leonid Mikhailovich Lavrovsky (1905–1967) was a Russian ballet choreographer, most famous for choreographing the first full version of Sergei Prokofiev's ''Romeo and Juliet''.
Early life
Lavrovsky was born in 1905 in St. Petersburg, the son ...
and with
Galina Ulanova
Galina Sergeyevna Ulanova (russian: Галина Сергеевна Уланова, ; 21 March 1998) was a Russian ballet dancer. She is frequently cited as being one of the greatest ballerinas of the 20th century.
Biography
Ulanova was born ...
and
Konstantin Sergeyev
Konstantin Mikhaylovich Sergeyev (russian: Константин Михайлович Сергеев; 5 March 1910 (20 February Old Style) – 1 April 1992) was a Russian danseur, artistic director and choreographer for the Kirov Theatre. When th ...
in the leading roles. Despite the objections of Prokofiev, Lavrovsky significantly changed the score of the ballet. This production received international acclaim and was awarded the
Stalin Prize Stalin Prize may refer to:
* The State Stalin Prize in science and engineering and in arts, awarded 1941 to 1954, later known as the USSR State Prize
The USSR State Prize (russian: links=no, Государственная премия СССР, ...
.
In 1955,
Mosfilm
Mosfilm (russian: Мосфильм, ''Mosfil’m'' ) is a film studio which is among the largest and oldest in the Russian Federation and in Europe. Founded in 1924 in the USSR as a production unit of that nation's film monopoly, its output incl ...
Galina Ulanova
Galina Sergeyevna Ulanova (russian: Галина Сергеевна Уланова, ; 21 March 1998) was a Russian ballet dancer. She is frequently cited as being one of the greatest ballerinas of the 20th century.
Biography
Ulanova was born ...
as Juliet and Yuri Zhdanov as Romeo. This film won the Best Lyrical Film and nominated as Palme d'Or in the 1955 Cannes Film Festival.
Original Cast
*
Galina Ulanova
Galina Sergeyevna Ulanova (russian: Галина Сергеевна Уланова, ; 21 March 1998) was a Russian ballet dancer. She is frequently cited as being one of the greatest ballerinas of the 20th century.
Biography
Ulanova was born ...
Konstantin Sergeyev
Konstantin Mikhaylovich Sergeyev (russian: Константин Михайлович Сергеев; 5 March 1910 (20 February Old Style) – 1 April 1992) was a Russian danseur, artistic director and choreographer for the Kirov Theatre. When th ...
,
Romeo
Romeo Montague () is the male protagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. The son of Lord Montague and his wife, Lady Montague, he secretly loves and marries Juliet, a member of the rival House of Capulet, through a priest ...
* Robert Gerbek,
Tybalt
Tybalt () is a character in William Shakespeare's play '' Romeo and Juliet''. He is the son of Lady Capulet's brother, Juliet's short-tempered first cousin, and Romeo's rival. Tybalt shares the same name as the character Tibert / Tybalt ''"th ...
* Andrei Lopukhov,
Mercutio
Mercutio ( , ) is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's 1597 tragedy, ''Romeo and Juliet''. He is a close friend to Romeo and a blood relative to Prince Escalus and Count Paris. As such, Mercutio is one of the named characters in the ...
Revivals and other productions
In 1955, Frederick Ashton choreographed a production of ''Romeo and Juliet'' for the
Royal Danish Ballet
The Royal Danish Ballet is an internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Danish Theatre in Kongens Nytorv, Copenhagen, Denmark. It is one of the oldest ballet companies in the world and originates from 1748, when the R ...
.
In 1962,
John Cranko
John Cyril Cranko (15 August 1927 – 26 June 1973) was a South African ballet dancer and choreographer with the Royal Ballet and the Stuttgart Ballet.
Life and career
Early life
Cranko was born in Rustenburg in the former province of Tran ...
Royal Ballet
The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded in ...
premiered at the
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...
,
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...
.
Margot Fonteyn
Dame Margaret Evelyn de Arias DBE (''née'' Hookham; 18 May 191921 February 1991), known by the stage name Margot Fonteyn, was an English ballerina. She spent her entire career as a dancer with the Royal Ballet (formerly the Sadler's Wells ...
and
Rudolf Nureyev
Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev ( ; Tatar/ Bashkir: Рудольф Хәмит улы Нуриев; rus, Рудо́льф Хаме́тович Нуре́ев, p=rʊˈdolʲf xɐˈmʲetəvʲɪtɕ nʊˈrʲejɪf; 17 March 19386 January 1993) was a Soviet ...
danced the title roles. Fonteyn, considered to be near retirement, embarked upon a rejuvenated career with a partnership with Nureyev. Also in 1965,
Oleg Vinogradov
Oleg Mikhailovich Vinogradov (russian: Оле́г Миха́йлович Виногра́дов; born 1 August 1937) is a Russian former dancer, choreographer and ballet director. He graduated from the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet under Ale ...
stages a version in Russia while serving as assistant ballet master to
Pyotr Gusev
Pyotr Andreyevich Gusev (russian: Пётр Андреевич Гусев) was a ballet dancer, teacher and choreographer. He was born on 29 December, 1904 in St. Petersburg. He studied at the St. Petersburg School of Choreography under . He was a ...
.
In 1971,
John Neumeier
John Neumeier (born February 24, 1939) is an American ballet dancer, choreographer, and director. He has been the director and chief choreographer of Hamburg Ballet since 1973. Five years later he founded the Hamburg Ballet School, which also in ...
, partly inspired by John Cranko, created another version of the ballet in Frankfurt. In 1974, Neumeier's ''Romeo and Juliet'' premiered in Hamburg as his first full-length ballet with the company.
In 1977,
Rudolf Nureyev
Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev ( ; Tatar/ Bashkir: Рудольф Хәмит улы Нуриев; rus, Рудо́льф Хаме́тович Нуре́ев, p=rʊˈdolʲf xɐˈmʲetəvʲɪtɕ nʊˈrʲejɪf; 17 March 19386 January 1993) was a Soviet ...
English National Ballet
English National Ballet is a classical ballet company founded by Dame Alicia Markova and Sir Anton Dolin as London Festival Ballet and based in London, England. Along with The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Northern Ballet and Scottish ...
. He performed the lead role of Romeo with British ballerinas Eva Evdokimova and Patricia Ruanne creating the role of Juliet. As a partnership, they toured the production internationally. Eva Evdokimova danced the leading role Juliet in London and Paris, and it continues to be a popular ballet in the ENB repertoire, with its most recent revival in 2010 staged by
Patricia Ruanne
Patricia Ruanne (3 June 1945 – 1 November 2022) was a British ballerina, ballet mistress, teacher, repetiteur, and director.
Early life
Ruanne was born in Leeds, Yorkshire on 3 June 1945 to Robert and Joan Ruane (née Castell). Her father ...
and Frederic Jahn of the original 1977 cast. This production was also staged by La Scala Theater Ballet in 1980 and
Paris Opera Ballet
The Paris Opera Ballet () is a French ballet company that is an integral part of the Paris Opera. It is the oldest national ballet company, and many European and international ballet companies can trace their origins to it. It is still regarded ...
in 1984 and has been a renowned performance in the POB repertoire.
In 1979,
Yuri Grigorovich
Yury Nikolayevich Grigorovich (russian: Ю́рий Никола́евич Григоро́вич; born 2 January 1927 in Leningrad) is a Soviet and Russian dancer and choreographer
In 1985, choreographer László Seregi's production premiered at the
Hungarian National Ballet
The Hungarian National Ballet ( hu, Magyar Nemzeti Balett) is a classical ballet dance company based in Budapest, Hungary. The ballet company is attached to the Hungarian State Opera House, which is also home to the Hungarian State Opera company ...
,
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
.
In 1990, director Armondo Linus Acosta used Prokofiev's score, performed by the
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...
, to create a motion picture adaptation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Acosta's '' Romeo.Juliet'' was conceived as a film-in-concert with a live orchestra performing the soundtrack, and was performed as such to international acclaim with by conductors such as André Previn,
Barry Wordsworth
Barry Wordsworth (born 20 February 1948, Worcester Park, Surrey, U.K.) is a British conductor.
Wordsworth is Principal Guest Conductor of the Royal Ballet and has had a long relationship with company. He was first appointed as Assistant Cond ...
, and
Nicholas Cleobury
Nicholas Cleobury (born 23 June 1950) is an English conductor.
Cleobury was organ scholar at Worcester College, Oxford, conductor of Schola Cantorum of Oxford and held assistant organist posts at Chichester Cathedral and Christ Church, Oxford b ...
.
In 1991,
Christopher Gable
Christopher Michael Gable, CBE (13 March 194023 October 1998) was an English ballet dancer, choreographer and actor.
Life and career
Dance career
Born in London, Gable studied at the Royal Ballet School, joining the Sadler's Wells Royal ...
directed his own production for the Northern Ballet Theatre. It was choreographed by Massimo Moricone and featured William Walker as Romeo and Jayne Regan as Juliet.
In 1996, choreographer
Jean-Christophe Maillot
Jean-Christophe Maillot (born 1960) is a French dancer and choreographer born in Tours.
Early life and education
He studied at the dance conservatory in Tours before enrolling at the École supérieure de danse de Cannes Rosella Hightower, ...
premiered his version of ''Roméo et Juliette'' at
Les Ballets de Monte Carlo
Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo (The Monte Carlo Ballet) is a classical ballet company established in 1985 by Caroline, Princess of Hanover, the Princess of Hanover in accordance with the wishes of her mother, Grace Kelly, Princess Grace of Monaco. I ...
. Taking formal inspiration from the episodic character of Sergei Prokofiev’s classic score, Maillot structured the action in a manner akin to cinematic narrative. Rather than focusing on themes of political-social opposition between the two feuding clans, this Romeo and Juliet highlights the dualities and ambiguities of adolescence.
In 2007,
Peter Martins
Peter Martins (born 27 October 1946) is a Danish ballet dancer and choreographer. Martins was a principal dancer with the Royal Danish Ballet and with the New York City Ballet, where he joined George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, and John Taras as ...
made ''
Romeo + Juliet
Romeo Montague () is the male protagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. The son of Lord Montague and his wife, Lady Montague, he secretly loves and marries Juliet, a member of the rival House of Capulet, through a pries ...
'' on
New York City Ballet
New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company' ...
to the Prokofiev music.
In 2008,
Krzysztof Pastor
Krzysztof Pastor (born 17 December 1956 in Gdańsk, Poland) is a Polish dancer, choreographer and ballet director. He was resident choreographer with the Dutch National Ballet in Amsterdam from 2003 to 2017, director of the Polish National Ballet ...
Scottish Ballet
Scottish Ballet is the national ballet company of Scotland and one of the five leading ballet companies of the United Kingdom, alongside the Royal Ballet, English National Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet and Northern Ballet. Founded in 1969, ...
at the
Edinburgh Festival Theatre
The Edinburgh Festival Theatre (originally Empire Palace Theatre and later shortened to Empire Theatre) is a performing arts venue located on Nicolson Street in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is used primarily for performances of opera and ballet, larg ...
. The Polish premiere of this version was by the
Polish National Ballet
The Polish National Ballet (PNB) is the largest and the most important ballet company in Poland. It continues a national ballet heritage, which dates to the 17th century.
Modernly it was known until 2008 as the ballet of the Teatr Wielki - Poli ...
in
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
, and the United States premiere was by the Joffrey Ballet in 2014.
On July 4, 2008, with the approval of the Prokofiev family and permission from the Russian State Archive, the original Prokofiev score was given its world premiere. Musicologist
Simon Morrison
Simon Morrison is a scholar and writer specializing in 20th-century music, particularly Russian, Soviet, and French music, with special interests in dance, cinema, aesthetics, and historically informed performance based on primary sources.
He has ...
, author of ''The People's Artist: Prokofiev's Soviet Years'', unearthed the original materials in the Moscow archives, obtained permissions, and reconstructed the entire score. Mark Morris created the choreography for the production. The Mark Morris Dance Group premiered the work at the Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at
Bard College
Bard College is a private liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains, and is within the Hudson River Historic District—a National Historic Landmark.
Founded in 1860, ...
in New York state. The production subsequently began a year-long tour to include Berkeley, Norfolk, London, New York, and Chicago.
In 2011, the
National Ballet of Canada
The National Ballet of Canada is a Canadian ballet company that was founded in 1951 in Toronto, Ontario, with Celia Franca as the first artistic director. A company of 70 dancers with its own orchestra, the National Ballet has been led since 2022 ...
premiered a new choreography of ''Romeo and Juliet'' by
Alexei Ratmansky
Alexei Osipovich Ratmansky (russian: Алексей Осипович Ратманский, born August 27, 1968) is a Russian-American choreographer and former ballet dancer. From 2004 to 2008 he was the director of the Bolshoi Ballet. He left Rus ...
in Toronto, with plans to take it on tour in Western Canada in early 2012.
Also in 2011,
Graeme Murphy
Graeme Lloyd Murphy AO (born 2 November 1950) is an Australian choreographer. With his fellow dancer (and wife since 2004) Janet Vernon, he guided Sydney Dance Company to become one of Australia's most successful and best-known dance compani ...
created his version of ''Romeo and Juliet'' for
The Australian Ballet
The Australian Ballet is the largest classical ballet company in Australia. It was founded by J. C. Williamson Theatres Ltd and the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust in 1962, with the English-born dancer, teacher, repetiteur and direct ...
.
Score
Instrumentation
In addition to a somewhat standard instrumentation, the ballet also requires the use of the
tenor saxophone
The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...
. This voice adds a unique sound to the orchestra as it is used both in solo and as part of the ensemble. Prokofiev also used the
cornet
The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B, though there is also a sopr ...
,
viola d'amore
The viola d'amore (; Italian for "viol of love") is a 7- or 6- stringed musical instrument with sympathetic strings used chiefly in the baroque period. It is played under the chin in the same manner as the violin.
Structure and sound
The vio ...
and
mandolin
A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...
s in the ballet, adding an Italianate flavor to the music.
Full instrumentation is as follows:
;
Woodwinds
Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments. Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and reed ...
:
:1
piccolo
The piccolo ( ; Italian for 'small') is a half-size flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" the modern piccolo has similar fingerings as the standard transverse flute, but the so ...
:2
flute
The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...
s
:2
oboe
The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range.
A ...
s
:1
cor anglais
The cor anglais (, or original ; plural: ''cors anglais''), or English horn in North America, is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family. It is approximately one and a half times the length of an oboe, making it essentially an alto ...
:2
clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound.
Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...
bass clarinet
The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B (meaning it is a transposing instrument on which a written C sounds as B), but it plays notes an octave bel ...
:1
tenor saxophone
The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...
:2
bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuo ...
s
:1
contrabassoon
The contrabassoon, also known as the double bassoon, is a larger version of the bassoon, sounding an octave lower. Its technique is similar to its smaller cousin, with a few notable differences.
Differences from the bassoon
The reed is consi ...
;
Brass
Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other with ...
:
:6
horn
Horn most often refers to:
*Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound
** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments
*Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various ...
s
:3
trumpet
The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...
s
:1
cornet
The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B, though there is also a sopr ...
:3
trombone
The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...
s
:1
tuba
The tuba (; ) is the lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece. It first appeared in the mid-19th century, making it one of the ne ...
;
Percussion
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...
:
:
Timpani
Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionall ...
:
Snare drum
The snare (or side drum) is a percussion instrument that produces a sharp staccato sound when the head is struck with a drum stick, due to the use of a series of stiff wires held under tension against the lower skin. Snare drums are often used ...
:
Xylophone
The xylophone (; ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets. Like the glockenspiel (which uses metal bars), the xylophone essentially consists of a set of tuned wooden keys arranged in ...
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Triangle
A triangle is a polygon with three Edge (geometry), edges and three Vertex (geometry), vertices. It is one of the basic shapes in geometry. A triangle with vertices ''A'', ''B'', and ''C'' is denoted \triangle ABC.
In Euclidean geometry, an ...
Maraca
A maraca (), sometimes called shaker or chac-chac, is a rattle which appears in many genres of Caribbean and Latin music. It is shaken by a handle and usually played as part of a pair.
Maracas (from Guaraní ), also known as tamaracas, were ...
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Glockenspiel
The glockenspiel ( or , : bells and : set) or bells is a percussion instrument consisting of pitched aluminum or steel bars arranged in a keyboard layout. This makes the glockenspiel a type of metallophone, similar to the vibraphone.
The glo ...
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Tambourine
The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though ...
Cymbal
A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs soun ...
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Bass drum
The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter much greater than the drum's depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. Th ...
;
Keyboards
Keyboard may refer to:
Text input
* Keyboard, part of a typewriter
* Computer keyboard
** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping
** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware
Music
* Musi ...
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Piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
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Celesta
The celesta or celeste , also called a bell-piano, is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. It looks similar to an upright piano (four- or five-octave), albeit with smaller keys and a much smaller cabinet, or a large wooden music box ( ...
mandolin
A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...
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harp
The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orche ...
Viola d'amore
The viola d'amore (; Italian for "viol of love") is a 7- or 6- stringed musical instrument with sympathetic strings used chiefly in the baroque period. It is played under the chin in the same manner as the violin.
Structure and sound
The vio ...
(or solo
viola
The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...
)
:First and second
violin
The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...
s
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Viola
The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...
s
:
Violoncello
The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D ...
s
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Double bass
The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...
es
The score is published by Muzyka and the Russian State Publisher.
Structure
List of acts, scenes and musical numbers.S. Prokofiev: Op. 64 Romeo and Juliet, Ballet in Four Acts, Nine Scenes. Moscow: Muzyka, 1976. (С. Прокофьев: Соч. 64 Ромео и Джульетта, Балет в четырех действиях, девяти картинах. Москва: Издательство «Музыка», 1976 г.)
Orchestral suites taken from the work
Suite No. 1 from ''Romeo and Juliet'', Op. 64bis
# Folk Dance
# Scene (''the Street Awakens'')
# Madrigal
# Minuet (''the Arrival of the Guests'')
# Masks
# Romeo and Juliet (''Balcony Scene'' and ''Love Dance'')
# Death of Tybalt (Containing parts from No. 33, 6, 35 & 36 from the complete score)
Suite No. 2 from ''Romeo and Juliet'', Op. 64ter
# Montagues and Capulets (''The Prince Gives His Order'' and ''Dance of the Knights'')
# Juliet as a Young Girl
# Friar Laurence (''Romeo at Friar Laurence's'')
# Dance (''Dance of the Five Couples'')
# Romeo and Juliet Before Parting
# Dance of the Girls with Lilies
# Romeo at Juliet's Tomb (Juliet's Grave)
Suite No. 3 from ''Romeo and Juliet'', Op. 101
# Romeo at the Fountain (''Introduction'' & ''Romeo'')
# Morning Dance
# Juliet (''Juliet's Variation'' & ''Juliet at Friar Laurence's'')
# The Nurse (''Preparing for the Ball'' & ''The Nurse'')
#
Aubade
An aubade is a morning love song (as opposed to a serenade, intended for performance in the evening), or a song or poem about lovers separating at dawn. It has also been defined as "a song or instrumental composition concerning, accompanying, or ev ...
(''Morning serenade'')
# The Death of Juliet
Ten Pieces for Piano, Op. 75
Prokofiev reduced selected music from the ballet as ''Romeo and Juliet: Ten Pieces for Piano'', Op. 75, which were performed in 1936 and 1937.
# Folk Dance
# Scene: The Street Awakens
# Minuet: Arrival of the Guests
# Juliet as a Young Girl
# Masquers
# Montagues and Capulets
# Friar Laurence
# Mercutio
# Dance of the Girls with Lilies
# Romeo and Juliet before Parting
Recordings
Sergei Prokofiev himself made the first recording of music from the ballet, with the
Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra The Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra is an orchestra based in Moscow, Russia. It was founded in 1951 by Samuil Samosud, as the Moscow Youth Orchestra for young and inexperienced musicians, acquiring its current name in 1953. It is most associated wit ...
in 1938. Since then, there have been recordings of the full score, as well as various excerpts such as the orchestral suites the composer prepared.
Leopold Stokowski
Leopold Anthony Stokowski (18 April 1882 – 13 September 1977) was a British conductor. One of the leading conductors of the early and mid-20th century, he is best known for his long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra and his appear ...
Gennady Rozhdestvensky
Gennady Nikolayevich Rozhdestvensky, CBE (russian: Генна́дий Никола́евич Рожде́ственский; 4 May 1931 – 16 June 2018) was a Soviet and Russian conductor.
Biography
Gennady Rozhdestvensky was born in Moscow. H ...
and the Symphony Orchestra of the
Bolshoi Theatre
The Bolshoi Theatre ( rus, Большо́й теа́тр, r=Bol'shoy teatr, literally "Big Theater", p=bɐlʲˈʂoj tʲɪˈatər) is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, originally designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds ballet and ope ...
recorded the full score in 1959. André Previn with the
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...
Cleveland Orchestra
The Cleveland Orchestra, based in Cleveland, is one of the five American orchestras informally referred to as the " Big Five". Founded in 1918 by the pianist and impresario Adella Prentiss Hughes, the orchestra plays most of its concerts at Se ...
both made recordings of the complete score in 1973.
Michael Tilson Thomas
Michael Tilson Thomas (born December 21, 1944) is an American conductor, pianist and composer. He is Artistic Director Laureate of the New World Symphony, an American orchestral academy based in Miami Beach, Florida, Music Director Laureate of ...
conducted the
San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
The San Francisco Symphony (SFS), founded in 1911, is an American orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980 the orchestra has been resident at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall in the city's Hayes Valley neighborhood. The San F ...
in 1995, in selections from the score, both for
RCA Victor
RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...
. Georg Solti conducted the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in a recording coupled with the Classical Symphony.
Valery Gergiev
Valery Abisalovich Gergiev (russian: Вале́рий Абиса́лович Ге́ргиев, ; os, Гергиты Абисалы фырт Валери, Gergity Abisaly fyrt Valeri; born 2 May 1953) is a Russian conductor and opera company d ...
made two recordings with
Kirov Orchestra
The Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra or just the Mariinsky Orchestra (formerly known as the Kirov Orchestra) is located in the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia. The orchestra was founded in 1783 during the reign of Catherine the Great, it w ...
in 2001 and
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...
Simon Morrison
Simon Morrison is a scholar and writer specializing in 20th-century music, particularly Russian, Soviet, and French music, with special interests in dance, cinema, aesthetics, and historically informed performance based on primary sources.
He has ...
International Music Score Library Project
The International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP), also known as the Petrucci Music Library after publisher Ottaviano Petrucci, is a subscription-based digital library of public-domain music scores. The project, which uses MediaWiki software ...
International Music Score Library Project
The International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP), also known as the Petrucci Music Library after publisher Ottaviano Petrucci, is a subscription-based digital library of public-domain music scores. The project, which uses MediaWiki software ...
International Music Score Library Project
The International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP), also known as the Petrucci Music Library after publisher Ottaviano Petrucci, is a subscription-based digital library of public-domain music scores. The project, which uses MediaWiki software ...