From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Roméo et Juliette is a "symphonie
dramatique", a large scale choral symphony by French composer Hector Berlioz.
The libretto was written
by Émile
Deschamps and the completed work was assigned the catalogue
numbers Op. 17 and
H.79. It is based on Shakespeare's play Romeo and
Juliet; it is regarded as one of Berlioz's finest works,
and it is certainly among the most original in form.[1] The
score is Berlioz's most comprehensive and detailed programmatic
piece.[2]
Composition
Genesis
Initial inspiration came from a performance he witnessed in 1827
of Romeo
and Juliet (in David Garrick's edited version) at the Odéon
Theatre in Paris. The cast included Harriet Smithson, who also inspired
Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique. In
his Memoirs, Berlioz describes the electrifying effect of
the drama:
To steep myself in the fiery sun and balmy nights of Italy, to
witness the drama of that passion swift as thought, burning as
lava, radiantly pure as an angel's glance, imperious, irresistible,
the raging vendettas, the desperate kisses, the frantic strife of
love and death, was more than I could bear ... I may add that at
the time I did not know a word of English ... But the power of the
acting, especially that of Juliet herself, the rapid flow of the
scenes, the play of expression and voice and gesture, told me more
and gave me a far richer awareness of the ideas and passions of the
original than the words of my pale and garbled translation could
do.[3]
The range of feeling and mood as well as poetic and formal
invention which Berlioz found in Shakespeare[4] had
a strong influence on his music, making a direct musical setting of
Shakespeare's work only natural. In fact, he had been planning a
musical realisation of Romeo and Juliet for a long time
before 1838, but other projects intervened.[5]
Emile Deschamps (the librettist of the work) says that he and
Berlioz worked out a plan for the symphony shortly after the
Odéon's 1827-28 season. Indeed, it may be the case that Roméo
et Juliette's genesis is intertwined with other works composed
before the composer left for his Prix de Rome sojourn of 1830-32. Sardanapale, the
cantata with which Berlioz finally won the Prix de Rome in 1830,
includes the melodic material of both the Roméo seul
("Romeo alone") portion of the second movement and the Grande
fête chez Capulet ("Great banquet at the Capulets").[3]
There is abundant evidence that Berlioz was gradually working
out a scheme for Roméo et Juliette during his sojourn in
Italy. He reviewed a February 1831 performance in Florence of Bellini's
I Capuleti e i Montecchi,
outlining in passing how he would compose music for the Roméo
et Juliette story: it would feature, he says, the swordfight,
a concert of love, Mercutio's piquant buffooning, the terrible
catastrophe, and the solemn oath of the two rival families. One
line of text from the review eventually shows up in the libretto of
the symphony.[3]
Realization
The eventual composition of Roméo et Juliette as we
know it now was made possible by the generous gift of 20,000 francs by Niccolò
Paganini, After hearing a performance of Harold en
Italie at the Paris Conservatoire on 16
December 1838, the great virtuoso had publicly knelt before Berlioz and
hailed him as the heir of Beethoven. Sadly, Paganini died
shortly after, and did not read or hear the piece.[6]
Berlioz used the money primarily to repay his debts, and afterwards
was still left with "a handsome sum of money",[7]
which he used to allow himself to put his full focus towards
working on "a really important work", unobstructed by his usual
time-consuming obligations as a critic.[7]
Berlioz finished the score on 8 September 1839.
The work's libretto is not sourced from the original plays, and
as a result contains inaccuracies, both in the version Berlioz
worked from, and subsequent cuts he and his librettist made.
Berlioz's composition was heavily influenced by the play he had
seen acted by Charles Kemble and Harriet Smithson in
1827, which had been rewritten by the 18th century actor David Garrick to
have Juliet awaken from her death-like sleep before Romeo's death
from (a much slower acting) poison. Berlioz enlisted the services
of author Emile Deschamps to write the libretto. Between them they
also left out the character of the nurse and expanded Shakespeare's
brief mention of the two families' reconciliation into a
substantial vocal finale.[4]
Berlioz's developed a special predilection for the symphony over
his career, referring to it in his Memoirs as "the supreme
drama of my life."[8] One
movement, in particular, became a favorite: "If you now (1858) ask
me which of my pieces I prefer, my answer will be that I share the
view of most artists: I prefer the Adagio (Scène
d'amour (Love scene)) in Roméo et Juliette."[3]
Performance
From composition until the first performance, Berlioz's time
was occupied with physical arrangements for the premiere: parts
were copied, chorus parts lithographed, and rehearsals got underway.
The bass-baritone, Adophe-Louis Alizard
(Friar Lawrence), and the Prologue chorus, all of whom came from the Paris Opéra, were
prepared during the intermissions of performances there.[3]
There was much anticipation in Paris prior to the first
performance. In the rehearsals, Berlioz pioneered the practice of
orchestral sectionals, rehearsing the different sections of the
orchestra separately to better prepare them for the challenging
piece. This was followed by two full orchestra rehearsals to polish
up the details.[3]
It was first performed in three concerts conducted by Berlioz at
the Paris Conservatoire with an
orchestra of 200[4] on
24 November, 1 December and 15 December 1839, before capacity
audiences that comprised much of the Parisian intelligentsia.
Another notable audience member was Richard Wagner.[5]
Reactions to the piece were quite varied, as could be expected for
a radical work. However, it was widely acknowledged that Berlioz
had scored a major triumph in these first performances; a "tour de
force such as only my system of sectional rehearsals could have
achieved".[4]
Berlioz comments "The score ... on all three occasions ... seemed
to score a genuine success. But I immediately felt that many parts
needed revising". He continued to revise the work, a few instances
upon the suggestions of critics, but generally by his own
judgement.[8]
A premiere of a later revision (including cuts and changes to
the Prologue, Queen Mab Scherzo, and the
Finale) was held in Vienna on 2 January 1846, the first performance
since 1839 and the first abroad. After hearing a complete
performance in Vienna on 26 January 1846, Berlioz took the
opportunity to make major revisions before a performance scheduled
for the following April in Prague. He accepted advice from several
confidants and advisers, rewriting the coda of the Queen Mab Scherzo,
shortening Friar Laurence's narrative at the end, deleting a
lengthy second Prologue at the beginning of the second
half, and introducing musical foreshadowing in the first
prologue.[3] The
full score was not published until 1847.[6]
Reflecting on the first performances, Berlioz commented in his
Memoirs:
It is immensely difficult to perform, and presents many kinds of
problems which arise from the work's form and the style; these
problems can only be overcome after long and patient study which
has to be supervised perfectly. To interpret the work properly
requires artists, all of them of the front rank, whether the
conductor, the instrumental players or the singers, and determined
to study it as is done with new operas in good lyrical theatres,
that is almost as though they were to be played by heart.[8]
Music
Structurally and musically, Roméo et Juliette is most
indebted to Beethoven's 9th symphony - not just due
to the use of soloists and choir, but in factors such as the weight of the
vocal contribution being in the finale, and also in aspects of the
orchestration such as the theme of the trombone recitative at the
Introduction.[4] The
roles of Roméo and Juliette are represented by the orchestra, and the
narrative aspects by the voices. Berlioz's reasoning follows:
If, in the famous garden and cemetery scenes, the dialogue of
the two lovers, Juliet's asides, and Romeo's passionate outbursts
are not sung, if the duets of love and despair are given to the
orchestra, the reasons for this are numerous and easy to
understand. First, and this reason alone would be sufficient, it is
a symphony and not an opera. Second, since duets of this nature
have been treated vocally a thousand times by the greatest masters,
it was wise as well as unusual to attempt another means of
expression.[9]
The vocal forces are used sparingly throughout, until they are
fully deployed in the finale.[4] The
exceptional virtuosity deployed in the orchestral writing seems
particularly appropriate for the dedicatee of the work, Paganini
himself, who was never able to hear it, much to Berlioz's
regret.[6]
Further examples of Berlioz's inventiveness are shown in the use of
thematic links throughout the piece, somewhat laying the ground for
the Wagnerian leitmotif,
for example the last solo notes of the oboe which follow Juliet's suicide echo a phrase
from the earlier funeral procession when she was thought to be
dead. The "Romeo at the tomb of the Capulets" movement is the most
tragic movement of the work, and the main theme, which played by
English horn, 4 bassoons and horn, is one of the most desolate,
dramatic melodies ever written.[4]
Berlioz signed and dated his autograph on 8 September 1839.[3] The
final score was dedicated to Paganini.[10]
The stylistic links of the work with Beethoven before (and Wagner after)
could not be stronger. From Beethoven, Berlioz learned the very
notion of programmatic music. He saw in the Pastoral symphony how music
might be depictive without being naïve, in the symphonic scherzi how the delicate
Queen Mab might best be evoked, and in the 9th symphony how effective a
choral finale could be. He sensed Beethoven's flexibility with
regard to number of movements and the performing force.[3]
Influence
From Roméo et Juliette Wagner absorbed so much about the ideals
of dramatic music that the work can be considered a major influence
on Tristan und Isolde. When Wagner
first heard the work in 1839 he said it made him feel like a
schoolboy at Berlioz's side. And Roméo et
Juliette was the one of Berlioz's works he knew best. Indeed,
their second and last meeting was on the occasion of a performance
of the work in London in 1855. Wagner learned something of melodic
flexibility and perhaps even a mastery of the orchestral force from
Berlioz. He may have absorbed more specific features: the close
relationship of the first few bars of the Tristan Prelude to the opening
of the second movement of Romeo and Juliet cannot be denied.[3]
Moreover, in 1860, he sent Berlioz the published full score of
Tristan und Isolde inscribed merely:
|
“ |
Au grand et cher auteur
de
Roméo et Juliette
L'auteur reconnaissant de
Tristan et Isolde.[3]
|
” |
Beyond the influence on Wagner's music drama, the piece pushed
the limits of the contemporary orchestra's capabilities, in terms
of colour, programmatic scope and individual
virtuosity. While this applies to much of Berlioz's music, it is
even more true for Roméo et Juliette, written at the
height of his powers and ambition. Its vivid scene-setting
surpasses many operas, which
constitutes an enormous success on Berlioz's part. Franz Liszt also
recognised the significance of Berlioz as a progressive composer,
and championed his music.
Structure
Part I
1. Introduction: Combats (Combat) - Tumulte
(Tumult) -
- Intervention du prince (Intervention of the prince)
-
- Prologue - Strophes - Scherzetto
Part II
2. Roméo seul (Romeo alone) - Tristresse
(Sadness) -
- Bruits lointains de concert et de bal (Distant sounds
from the concert and the ball) -
- Grande fête chez Capulet (Great banquet at the
Capulets)
3. Scène d'amour (Love scene) - Nuit serène
(Serene night) -
- Le jardin de Capulet silencieux et déserte (The Capulets'
garden silent and deserted) -
- Les jeunes Capulets sortant de la fête en chantant des
réminiscences de la musique du bal -
- (The young Capulets leaving the banquet singing snatches of
music from the ball)
4. Scherzo: La reine Mab, reine des songes (Queen Mab
Scherzo)
Part III
5. Convoi funèbre de Juliette (Funeral cortège for the
young Juliet): "Jetez des fleurs pour la vierge
expirée"
6. Roméo au tombeau des Capulets (Romeo at the tomb of
the Capulets) -
- Invocation: Réveil de Juliette (Juliet awakes) -
Joie délirante, désespoir (Delirious joy, despair) -
- Dernières angoisses et mort des deux amants (Last
throes and death of the two lovers)
7. Finale:
- La foule accourt au cimetière (The crowd rushes to the
graveyard) -
- Des Capulets et des Montagus (Fight between the
Capulets and Montagues) -
- Récitatif et Air du Père Laurence (Friar Lawrence's
recitative and aria) Aria: "Pauvres enfants que je pleure"
-
- Serment de réconciliation (Oath of reconciliation)
Oath: "Jurez donc par l'auguste symbole"
Bibliography
- Berlioz: Roméo et Juliette: Julian Rushton, 129pp, Cambridge University Press,
26 August 1994. ISBN : 0521377676, ISBN :
978-0521377676
- Berlioz's Semi-Operas: Roméo et Juliette and La Damnation
de Faust: Daniel Albright, 204pp, University of Rochester
Press, September 2001. ISBN : 1580460941, ISBN :
978-1580460941
Discography
Complete
- Roméo et Juliette; Nuits d'été: Janet Baker, Jessye Norman. John Barbirolli & Riccardo Muti
cond., Philadelphia Orchestra, New
Philharmonia Orchestra. 2 CDs, DDD, EMI
Classics, 11 August 1998. ASIN:
B000009OQO
- Roméo et Juliette; Les Nuits d'été: Denis Sedov,
Melanie Diener, Kenneth Tarver. Pierre Boulez cond., Cleveland
Orchestra. 2 CDs, DDD, Deutsche Grammophon, 14
October 2003. ASIN: B00008NR4P
- Roméo et Juliette; Symphonie Fantastique: Andre
Turp. Pierre
Monteux & René Leibowitz cond., London Symphony Orchestra, Wiener
Staatsopernorchester. 2 CDs, ADD, Deutsche
Grammophon (originally Westminster), 23
November 2001. ASIN: B00005RIH4
- Roméo et Juliette: Robbin, Fouchecourt, Cachemaille.
John
Eliot Gardiner cond., Orchestre
Révolutionnaire et Romantique, Monteverdi Choir. 2 CDs, DDD,
Philips/PolyGram, 14 April
1998. ASIN: B0000069CM
- Roméo et Juliette: Daniela Barcellona, Orlin
Anastassov, Kenneth Tarver. Colin Davis cond., London Symphony Orchestra. 2
CDs, DDD, LSO Live, 1 January 2000. Cat. no:
LSO0003, UPC: 822231100324, ASIN:
B00004XR87
- Roméo et Juliette; Bizet - Carmen & L'Arlésienne
Suites: Nicola Moscona, Gladys Swarthout. Arturo
Toscanini cond., NBC Symphony Orchestra. 2 CDs,
ADD, RCA
Records. ASIN: B000003EX4
- Roméo et Juliette: Olga Borodina, Thomas Moser, Alastair
Miles. Colin Davis
cond., Wiener Philharmoniker, Bavarian
Radio Chorus. 2 CDs, DDD, Philips, 1 September
1996. ASIN: B00000418S
- Roméo et Juliette; Symphonie Fantastique: Rosalind Elias.
Charles Münch cond., Boston Symphony Orchestra,
New England Conservatory Chorus. 2 CDs, RCA Records,
20 May 2003. ASIN: B000024HIJ
- Berlioz: Complete Orchestral Works: John
Shirley-Quirk, Robert Tear, Sir Colin Davis
cond., London Symphony Orchestra,
John Alldis Choir, Phillips, 1968. ASIN:
B0017MU60E
Excerpts
- Roméo et Juliette; Le Troyens à Carthage: Frank Almond
& Yoav Talmi
cond., San
Diego Symphony Orchestra, San Diego Master Chorale. CD, DDD,
Naxos, 22 August 1995. Cat. no:
8.553195, Barcode: 0730099419529, ASIN:
B000001460
- Roméo et Juliette; L'enfance du Christ: Victoria de los Ángeles, Nicolai Gedda. André
Cluytens & Carlo Maria Giulini cond., Chicago Symphony Orchestra,
Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire. 2 CDs, ADD,
EMI
Classics/Angel, 19 November 1996. ASIN:
B000002SCH
- Roméo et Juliette; Requiem; Mort de Cléopâtre: Jennie Tourel, Stuart Burrows.
Leonard
Bernstein cond., New York Philharmonic, Orchestre
National d'Ile de France, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France.
2 CDs, ADD, Sony, 28 July 1992. ASIN:
B0000027LZ
- Roméo et Juliette; Symphonie Fantastique: Charles Münch cond., Orchestre National et
Choeurs de la RTF. 2 CDs, Cascavelle, 26 April
2007. ASIN: B000P2A4YU (more information needed)
- Roméo et Juliette; Symphonie Fantastique: André
Cluytens, Orchestre National de la Radiodiffusion, Française
Orchestre du Théâtre National de l'Opéra. CD, Testament, 25 February
2002. Cat. no: SBT1234 , ASIN: B000060K9F
DVD
References
- David Cairns: Berlioz: Servitude and Greatness (the
second volume of his biography of the composer) (Viking, 1999)
- Hugh Macdonald: Berlioz ("The Master Musicians",
J.M.Dent, 1982)
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