The great French composer Hector Berlioz claimed that Shakespeare’s tragedy “Romeo and Juliet” as if intended for music. Apparently, other composers adhered to the same opinion, whom the famous Shakespearean plot inspired to create works of various genres.
Instruction manual
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Although composers and musicians began to turn to the love story of Romeo and Juliet back in the 18th century, the first famous work based on the Shakespearean tragedy was written in 1830. They became the opera Vincenzo Bellini "Capulet and Montecchi." It is not at all surprising that the Italian composer was attracted by the story that took place in Italian Verona. True, Bellini somewhat departed from the plot of the play: his brother Juliet dies at the hands of Romeo, and Tybalt, named in the opera Tybaldo, is not a relative, but the girl's bridegroom. Interestingly, Bellini himself at that time was in love with the opera diva Juditta Grisi and wrote Romeo for her magnificent mezzo-soprano.
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In the same year, a French rebel and romantic Hector Berlioz attended one of the opera performances. However, the calm sound of Bellini's music caused him deepest disappointment. In 1839 he wrote his "Romeo and Juliet" - a dramatic symphony to the words of Emil Deschamps. In the 20th century, many ballet performances were staged to the music of Berlioz. The most famous was the ballet Romeo and Julia, choreographed by Maurice Bejart.
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In 1867, the famous opera Romeo and Juliet by the French composer Charles Gounod was created. Although this work is often ironically called the “all-in-one love duet, ” it is considered the best opera version of Shakespeare’s tragedy and is still being performed on the stages of world opera houses.
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Among those few listeners whose opera Gounod did not cause much enthusiasm, was Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. In 1869, he wrote his work on a Shakespearean plot, he became an overture-fantasy "Romeo and Juliet." The tragedy captivated the composer so much that at the end of his life he decided to write a big opera on it, but, unfortunately, did not manage to carry out his grandiose plan. In 1942, the outstanding choreographer Serge Lifar staged a ballet to the music of Tchaikovsky.
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However, the most famous ballet on the plot of Romeo and Juliet was written in 1932 by Sergei Prokofiev. At first, his music seemed to many to be "non-dance", but over time, Prokofiev managed to prove the viability of his work. Since then, ballet has gained immense popularity and, to this day, has not left the stage of the best theaters in the world.
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September 26, 1957 at the stage of one of the Broadway theaters, the premiere of the musical Leonard Bernstein "West Side Story" took place. Its action takes place in modern New York, and the happiness of the heroes - “Native American” Tony and Puerto Rican Maria is ruined by racial enmity. Nevertheless, all the plot moves of the musical very accurately repeat the content of Shakespeare's tragedy.
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In the 20th century, the music of the Italian composer Nino Rota, written for the film Franco Zeffirelli, shot in 1968, became a kind of musical visiting card of Romeo and Juliet. It was this film that inspired the contemporary French composer Gerard Presgurvik to create the musical “Romeo and Juliet”, which has gained immense popularity, which is well known in the Russian version.
