''Juliette'' is an

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

Bohuslav Martinů Bohuslav Jan Martinů (; December 8, 1890 – August 28, 1959) was a Czech composer of modern classical music. He wrote 6 symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber, vocal and instrumental works. He bec ...

, who also wrote the

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

, in French, based on the play ''Juliette, ou La clé des songes'' (''Juliette, or The Key of Dreams)'' by the French author

Georges Neveux Georges Neveux (1900–1982) was a French dramatist and poet. Neveux's first notable work was the play ''Juliette ou la clé des songes (Juliet or the key to dreams)'', written in 1927 and produced in 1930. It became the basis of Theodor Schae ...

. A libretto in Czech was later prepared for its premiere which took place at the

Prague National Theatre The National Theatre ( cs, Národní divadlo) in Prague is known as the alma mater of Czech opera, and as the national monument of Czech history and art. The National Theatre belongs to the most important Czech cultural institutions, with a ri ...

on 16 March 1938. ''Juliette'' has become widely considered as Martinů's masterpiece.

Performance history

Martinů became aware of the play by Neveux in 1932, two years after its premiere at the in Paris (8th arrondissement) on 7 March 1930.Smaczny, Jan. "''Julietta''". In: ''

The New Grove Dictionary of Opera ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' is an encyclopedia of opera, considered to be one of the best general reference sources on the subject. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volu ...

''. Macmillan, London and New York, 1997. It appears that Neveux had come to an agreement with

Kurt Weill Kurt Julian Weill (March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fru ...

to base a musical comedy on his play, but on hearing some of Martinů's music, passed his favour to the Czech.Bohuslav Martinů: ''Juliette ou la Clé des songes''. In: Kaminski, Piotr. ''Mille et Un Opéras''. Fayard, 2003, pp. 839–841. The initial work on the opera was undertaken to French words, but a Czech version was set between May 1936 and January 1937. By the time of its premiere Martinů had written eight operas in a variety of styles. The work received its first performance at

on 16 March 1938 (as ''Julietta aneb Snář''), with

Václav Talich Václav Talich (; 28 May 1883, Kroměříž – 16 March 1961, Beroun) was a Czech violinist and later a musical pedagogue. He is remembered today as one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, the object of countless reissues of his man ...

conducting, a few months before Martinů made his last visit to his country of birth. From Paris he wrote to Talich expressing his deep thanks to the conductor for his "understanding" which "showed all who worked with you the right path". Neveux had also been present at the premiere, adjudging the setting better than his prose original. Subsequently, the opera has only been intermittently performed at that house; new productions were mounted in 1963 and 1989, and an

Opera North Opera North is an English opera company based in Leeds. The company's home theatre is the Leeds Grand Theatre, but it also presents regular seasons in several other cities, at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham, the Lowry Centre, Salford Quays and ...

production was seen three times in 2000; in March 2016 a new production was premiered at the theatre,Allison, John. Report from Prague. ''Opera'', June 2016, vol. 67, no 6, pp. 713–715. and performances are scheduled for its 80th anniversary in 2018. The composer was present at the German premiere in

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...

in January 1956. A production by the

Bielefeld Opera The Bielefeld Opera is the venue of Städtische Bühnen Bielefeld (Municipal stages Bielefeld) in Bielefeld, Germany. It is a ''Dreisparten Haus'' (three-department house), offering plays, music (opera, musical theatre), and ballet. The main per ...

in Germany conducted by

Geoffrey Moull Geoffrey Moull is a Canadian professional conductor. He was principal conductor of the Bielefeld Philharmonic Orchestra and music director of the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra. Education Geoffrey Moull was born in London, Ontario, Canada and ...

received eight performances in 1992. In France, a radio broadcast in 1962 was conducted by Charles Bruck, while the stage premiere was at the Grand Théâtre in

Angers Angers (, , ) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Anjou until the French Revolution. The inhabitants of both the city and the prov ...

in 1970. The UK premiere was given in April 1978 in London by the

New Opera Company The New Opera Company was a British opera company active during the period 1956 to 1984. It was mainly based at Sadler's Wells Theatre, London and later worked in co-ordination with English National Opera. The company was responsible for the premi ...

at the

London Coliseum The London Coliseum (also known as the Coliseum Theatre) is a theatre in St Martin's Lane, Westminster, built as one of London's largest and most luxurious "family" variety theatres. Opened on 24 December 1904 as the London Coliseum Theatre ...

, conducted by

Charles Mackerras Mackerras in 2005 Sir Alan Charles MacLaurin Mackerras (; 1925 2010) was an Australian conductor. He was an authority on the operas of Janáček and Mozart, and the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan. He was long associated with the Eng ...

in an English translation by

Brian Large Brian Large (born 16 February 1939 in London, England) is a television director and author. He is among the world's foremost TV directors specializing in opera and classical music. Biography Studies Large studied at the Royal Academy of Music ...

, with Joy Roberts and Stuart Kale in the principal roles, and it was revived by

English National Opera English National Opera (ENO) is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in English ...

in the following season. There was a production by the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz ...

in 1987 conducted by Howard Williams, with the title role shared between Juliet Booth and Sarah Pring. Following a performance at the

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Fe ...

by a visiting Slovak company in 1990, the next UK production was by Opera North in 1997, with

Rebecca Caine Rebecca Caine (born 25 November 1959) is a Canadian soprano, and musical theatre performer. Life and career Caine was born in Toronto, Ontario and studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. She is the daughter of Australian s ...

and Paul Nilon. A production by Richard Jones in Paris in 2002 was revived by English National Opera in September/October 2012 to enthusiastic reviews overall."''Julietta'' – opera review"
by Andrew Clements, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', London, 18 September 2012 Germany's

Theater Bremen Theater Bremen (Bremen Theatre) is a state theatre in Bremen, Germany, with four divisions for opera, straight theater, dance, and student programs. Its venues are located in a city block, connected in architecture and seating up to 1,426 spectato ...

staged a new production opening on 29 March 2014 under the direction of

John Fulljames John Fulljames (born 1976) is an English opera director who was the director of the Royal Danish Opera from 2017 to 2022. He was Associate Director of Opera at the British Royal Opera from 2011 to 2017. A Cambridge University graduate in Physics, ...

.Theater Bremen
/ref> Andreas Homoki and

Fabio Luisi Fabio Luisi (born 17 January 1959) is an Italian conductor. He is currently principal conductor of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, music director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and chief conductor of the NHK Symphony Orchestra. Biog ...

mounted a new production at Opernhaus Zürich with Joseph Kaiser as Michel in 2015 and the Berlin Staatsoper premiered a new production on 28 May 2016 at its temporary

Schiller Theater The Schiller Theater is a theatre building in Berlin, Germany. It is located in the central Charlottenburg district at Bismarckstraße 110, near Ernst-Reuter-Platz. Opened in 1907, the building served as a second venue for the Prussian State ...

home, with

Daniel Barenboim Daniel Barenboim (; in he, דניאל בארנבוים, born 15 November 1942) is an Argentine-born classical pianist and conductor based in Berlin. He has been since 1992 General Music Director of the Berlin State Opera and "Staatskapellmeist ...

conducting,

Claus Guth Claus Guth (born 1964) is a German theatre director, focused on opera. He has directed operas at major houses and festivals, including world premieres such as works of the Munich Biennale, and Berio's '' Cronaca del luogo'' at the Salzburg Festiv ...

directing,

Magdalena Kožená Magdalena Kožená (also Lady Rattle; ; born 26 May 1973) is a Czech mezzo-soprano. Early life Kožená was born in Brno in Czechoslovakia. Both her parents had come originally from Bohemia, to the west. She was born one of the two daughters o ...

as Juliette and

Rolando Villazón Rolando Villazón Mauleón (born 22 February 1972) is a Mexican operatic tenor, stage director, author, radio and television personality and artistic director. He now lives in France, and in 2007 became a French citizen. Villazón has published ...

as Michel. Martinů's setting of his libretto is primarily lyrical although there are no extended solo arias. The "extended diatonicism" of the composer's mature works features along with "motoric rhythms found in his Double Concerto of 1938, especially where the plot moves rapidly forward. Jan Smaczny observes that the ability of the composer to characterize, honed as an observer of small-town life when a child living in the

Polička Polička (; german: Politschka) is a town in Svitavy District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 8,700 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. Administrat ...

clock tower offers a sequence of "sharply painted tableaux" with a "carnival of caricatures", both comic and poignant.Jan Smaczny. "A key to Martinů's ''Julietta''". ''Opera'', October 1997, vol. 48, no. 10, pp. 1162–1167. For the singers, there is the factor that significant sections of the piece are dialogue rather than singing, although Martinů's experience in a variety of theatre works before this, his ninth opera, allows him to weave the spoken words as an integral part of the impact of the opera, "distancing the audience from the often dreamlike quality of the musical fabric". A snatch of melody on an off-stage accordion, and a melodic fragment which symbolizes longing are introduced at key moments in the score. Smaczny comments that "suggestion is everything in this score, and Martinů is astonishingly successful at stimulating the imagination often with breathtaking economy". The opera was one of the composer's favourite works, and he incorporated a few bars from it in his last symphony in 1953. There are two principal roles: Juliette (soprano) and Michel (tenor). James Helmes Sutcliffe remarked in ''

Opera News ''Opera News'' is an American classical music magazine. It has been published since 1936 by the Metropolitan Opera Guild, a non-profit organization located at Lincoln Center which was founded to engender the appreciation of opera and also support ...

'' on "Martinů's beautiful score" and on his "lyrical, atmospheric music". Hindle and Godsil have published a psychoanalytical study of the opera and analysed the work in the context of Martinů's life. The opera was revived at the Prague National Theatre on 16 March 2018, the 80th anniversary of its premiere.

Orchestral suite

Martinů began to prepare a concert work from the opera, "Three Fragments from ''Juliette''", with changes to the original vocal lines, after the opera's premiere, after his return to Paris. However, the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

interrupted his work, and his own labours on this composition continued until his death in 1959. The score was lost after Martinů's death, until 2002, when Aleš Březina discovered the piano reduction of the score among a private collection of papers. After Březina returned to Prague to have this adapted into a full orchestral score, the Czech publishing firm DILIA revealed that a full score already existed in their archives. Sir

conducted the world premiere of the "Three Fragments from ''Juliette''" with the

Czech Philharmonic Orchestra The Česká filharmonie (Czech Philharmonic) is a symphony orchestra based in Prague. The orchestra's principal concert venue is the Rudolfinum. History The name "Czech Philharmonic Orchestra" appeared for the first time in 1894, as the title ...

in December 2008.

Roles

Synopsis

Act 1

Michel, a traveling bookseller from Paris, finds himself in a seaside town in search of a girl whose voice has haunted him since first hearing it three years before. From the following scenes with various townspeople, it emerges that none of them can remember more than a few minutes, which is confirmed by a police officer. The policeman asks Michel what his oldest memory is – in fact, a toy duck. As he has such a good memory the townsfolk he is elected to be town captain, and the officer departs to prepare for his inauguration. As Michel (with just piano accompaniment) tells some townspeople of how he came to fall in love with the voice of the unknown girl, the voice of Juliette is heard and after her song she asks him to meet her later in the woods. The policeman returns as a postman with no recollection of his meeting with Michel.

Act 2

At a crossroads in the woods near a fountain, various people enter, all showing a lack of memory, including a fortune teller who forewarns Michel of something. When Juliette arrives she conjures a world of romantic fantasy and asks him to tell her of their (non-existent) past love. A peddlar comes by selling wares in which Juliette sees her past with Michel. She runs into the woods and Michel fires a shot at which the townspeople rush in to arrest him. He diverts them by telling them stories and they forget their intention to execute him and wander away. Back in the town square Michel locates Juliette's house, but an old woman says that she lives alone. He hears Juliette's song again, but decides to embark on a ship and leave.

Act 3

At the Central Bureau of Dreams several dreamers (the messenger, the beggar, the convict, the railway engineer) come to ask for their fantasy dream. Michel is warned that if he returns to his dream and does not wake up, he will be imprisoned in the dream-world forever. Ready to leave his dream, he hears Juliette's voice calling him and despite the nightwatchman's warning declares that he will stay with her. The setting and townsfolk from the start of the opera returns, and Michel remains in the dream-world.

Recordings

Le Chant du Monde Le Chant du Monde is a French music publishing house. It was created in 1938 by Léon Moussinac and was supported in the beginning by classical composers Georges Auric, Arthur Honegger, Charles Koechlin, Darius Milhaud, Francis Poulenc, Albert ...

(1962, live in Paris):

Andrée Esposito Andrée Esposito (born 7 February 1934) is a French opera singer, a lyric soprano particularly associated with the French repertory and contemporary works. Biography Andrée Esposito was born in Algiers, Algeria, into a family of French-Ital ...

(Julietta),

Jean Giraudeau Jean Giraudeau (1 July 1916, in Toulon – 7 February 1995), was an artist and French tenor,Obituary: Jean Giraudeau. ''Opera (British magazine), Opera'', June 1995, Vol.46, No.6, p671. and later theatre director, particularly associated with th ...

(Michel), Charles Bruck *

Supraphon Supraphon Music Publishing is a Czech record label, oriented mainly towards publishing classical music and popular music, with an emphasis on Czech and Slovak composers. History The Supraphon name was first registered as a trademark in 1932. T ...

(1964) SU 3626-2 612:

Maria Tauberová Maria Tauberová (née Proskeová) (28 April 1911 – 16 January 2003) was a Czech opera singer who had an active international career from the 1930s through the 1970s. A lyric coloratura soprano with an excellent technique, she possessed a warm ...

(Julietta),

Ivo Žídek Ivo Žídek (4 June 1926, Kravaře – 20 May 2003, Prague) was a Czech lyric tenor, known for his vivid portrayals of character roles in the operas of Smetana, Dvořák and Janáček. Early life Ivo Žídek was born in Kravaře, Czechoslova ...

(Michel), Orchestra and Chorus of the Prague National Theatre;

Jaroslav Krombholc Jaroslav Krombholc (Prague, 30 January 1918 - 16 July 1983) was a Czechoslovak conductor. Biography Krombholc is born in a musician family. He studied in Prague Conservatory in 1937-1940 and nearby Václav Talich until 1942. After, he became cond ...

, conductor, with Antonín Zlesák,

Zdeněk Otava Zdeněk Otava (11 March 1902 – 4 December 1980) was a Czech operatic baritone who had a lengthy career at the Prague National Theatre that spanned more than four decades. Musicologist Alena Němcová stated that, "Otava's voice had a very wide ...

ORF ORF or Orf may refer to: * Norfolk International Airport, IATA airport code ORF * Observer Research Foundation, an Indian research institute * One Race Films, a film production company founded by Vin Diesel * Open reading frame, a portion of the ...

(2002, live at Bregenz):

Eva-Maria Westbroek Eva-Maria Westbroek (born 26 April 1970) is a Dutch soprano opera singer. Training Westbroek studied at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague from 1988 to 1995. Her vocal teachers included Iris Adami Corradetti and the American tenor James McCr ...

(Julietta), Johannes Chum (Michel), Vienna Symphony Orchestra conducted by Dietfried Bernet * Oehms Classics (2014 live, Frankfurt): Juanita Lascarro (Julietta),

Kurt Streit Kurt Streit (born 14 October 1959 in Itazuke, Fukuoka, JapanInternational who's who in music and musicians' directory: (in the classical and light classical fields), David M. Cummings, Volume One, 2000/2001) is an Austrian-American tenor who perfor ...

(Michel), Frankfurt Opera conducted by

Sebastian Weigle Sebastian Weigle (born 1961, in East Berlin) is a German conductor and horn player. He is currently ''Generalmusikdirektor'' of the Oper Frankfurt and principal conductor of the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra. Biography Weigle is a nephew of ...