Ромео и Джульетта: История балета Прокофьева

1935 ballet by Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Prokofiev's ballet

Romeo and Juliet (Ромео и Джульетта), Op. 64, is a ballet by Sergei Prokofiev based on William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. First composed in 1935, it was substantially revised for its Soviet premiere in early 1940. Prokofiev made from the ballet three orchestral suites and a suite for solo piano.

In 1955, Frederick Ashton choreographed a production of Romeo and Juliet for the Royal Danish Ballet. In 1962, John Cranko's choreography of Romeo and Juliet for the Stuttgart Ballet helped the company achieve a worldwide reputation. It had its American premiere in 1969. In 1965, choreographer Sir Kenneth MacMillan's version for the Royal Ballet premiered at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev 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 stages a version in Russia while serving as assistant ballet master to Pyotr Gusev. In 1971, John Neumeier, 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 created a new version of Romeo and Juliet for the London Festival Ballet, today's English National Ballet. 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 and Frederic Jahn of the original 1977 cast. This production was also staged by La Scala Theater Ballet in 1980 and Paris Opera Ballet in 1984 and has been a renowned performance in the POB repertoire. In 1979, Yuri Grigorovich created a new version for the Bolshoi, "which did away with most of the stage properties and stylized the action into an all danced text." This was revived in 2010 and remains in the Bolshoi repertory. In 1985, choreographer László Seregi's production premiered at the Hungarian National Ballet, Budapest. In 1990, director Armondo Linus Acosta used Prokofiev's score, performed by the London Symphony Orchestra, 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, and Nicholas Cleobury. In 1991, Christopher Gable 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 premiered his version of Roméo et Juliette at Les Ballets de Monte Carlo. 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 made Romeo + Juliet on New York City Ballet to the Prokofiev music. In 2008, Krzysztof Pastor presented his version by the Scottish Ballet at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre. The Polish premiere of this version was by the Polish National Ballet in Warsaw, 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, 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 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 premiered a new choreography of Romeo and Juliet by Alexei Ratmansky in Toronto, with plans to take it on tour in Western Canada in early 2012. Also in 2011, Graeme Murphy created his version of Romeo and Juliet for The Australian Ballet. In 2015, Stanton Welch premiered his version of Romeo and Juliet for Houston Ballet. In 2019 at the Curve Theatre, Leicester Matthew Bourne choreographed an alternative adaptation of Romeo and Juliet set in a mental hospital called 'Verona Institute'. It was filmed with Cordelia Braithwaite as Juliet, Paris Fitzpatrick as Romeo and Dan Wright as Tybalt.

List of acts, scenes and musical numbers. SceneNo. Original title in RussianEnglish titleTempo indicationNotes Act 1 1 Вступление Introduction Andante assai Scene 1 2 Ромео Romeo Andante 3 Улица просыпается The Street Awakens Allegretto 4 Утренний танец Morning Dance Allegro 5 Ссора The Quarrel Allegro brusco 6 Бой The Fight Presto 7 Приказ герцога The Prince Gives His Order Andante a. k. a. The Duke's Command. Introduction of Montagues and Capulets in Suite No. 28 Интерлюдия Interlude Andante pomposo (L'istesso tempo) Scene 2 9 Приготовление к балу (Джульетта и Кормилица) Preparing for the Ball (Juliet and the Nurse) Andante assai. Scherzando a. k. a. At the Capulets' (Preparations for the Ball)10 Джульетта Девочка Juliet as a Young Girl Vivace a. k. a. The Young Juliet11 Съезд гостей (Менуэт) Arrival of the Guests (Minuet) Assai moderato 12 Маски (Ромео, Меркуцио и Бенволио в масках) Masks (Romeo, Mercutio and Benvolio in Masks) Andante marciale 13 Танец рыцарей Dance of the Knights Allegro pesante The main part of Montagues and Capulets in Suite No. 214 Вариация Джульетты Juliet's Variation Moderato (quasi Allegretto) 15 Меркуцио Mercutio Allegro giocoso 16 Мадригал Madrigal Andante tenero 17 Тибальд узнает Ромео Tybalt Recognizes Romeo Allegro 18 Гавот (Разъезд гостей) Gavotte (Departure of the Guests) Allegro Gavotte (movement III) from "Classical" Symphony, Op. 2519 Сцена у балкона Balcony Scene Larghetto 20 Вариация Ромео Romeo's Variation Allegretto amoroso 21 Любовный танец Love Dance Andante Act 2 Scene 3 22 Народный танец Folk Dance Allegro giocoso 23 Ромео и Меркуцио Romeo and Mercutio Andante tenero 24 Танец пяти пар Dance of the Five Couples Vivo Dance in Suite No. 225 Танец с мандолинами Dance with Mandolins Vivace 26 Кормилица The Nurse Adagio scherzoso 27 Кормилица передает Ромео записку от Джульетты The Nurse Gives Romeo the Note from Juliet Vivace a. k. a. The Nurse and Romeo Scene 4 28 Ромео у патера Лоренцо Romeo at Friar Laurence's Andante espressivo 29 Джульетта у патера Лоренцо Juliet at Friar Laurence's Lento Scene 5 30 Народное веселье продолжается The People Continue to Make Merry Vivo a. k. a. Public Merrymaking31 Снова народный танец The Folk Dance Again Allegro giocoso a. k. a. Further Public Festivities (Снова народный праздник)32 Встреча Тибальда с Меркуцио Tybalt Meets Mercutio Moderato a. k. a. Meeting of Tybalt and Mercutio33 Тибальд бьётся с Меркуцио Tybalt and Mercutio Fight Precipitato a. k. a. The Duel34 Меркуцио умирает Death of Mercutio Moderato 35 Ромео решает мстить за смерть Меркуцио Romeo Decides to Avenge Mercutio's Death Andante. Animato a. k. a. Death of Tybalt36 Финал второго действия Finale of Act II Adagio dramatico Act 3 37 Вступление Introduction Andante reprise of No. 7 Scene 6 38 Ромео и Джульетта (Спальня Джульетты) Romeo and Juliet (Juliet's bedroom) Lento 39 Прощание перед разлукой Farewell before Parting Andante a. k. a. Romeo Bids Juliet Farewell, or The Last Farewell40 Кормилица The Nurse Andante assai 41 Джульетта отказывается выйти за Париса Juliet Refuses to Marry Paris Vivace 42 Джульетта одна Juliet Alone Adagio 43 Интерлюдия Interlude Adagio Scene 7 44 У Лоренцо At Friar Laurence's Andante a. k. a. At Friar Laurence's Cell45 Интерлюдия Interlude L'istesso tempo Scene 8 46 Снова у Джульетты Again in Juliet's Bedroom Moderato tranquillo 47 Джульетта одна Juliet Alone Andante 48 Утренняя серенада Morning Serenade Andante giocoso a. k. a. Aubade49 Танец девушек с лилиями Dance of the Girls with Lilies Andante con eleganza 50 У постели Джульетты At Juliet's Bedside Andante assai Act 4: Epilogue Scene 9 51 Похороны Джульетты Juliet's Funeral Adagio funebre Romeo at the Tomb of Juliet in Suite No. 252 Смерть Джульетты Death of Juliet Adagio (meno mosso del tempo precendente)

Note that for compositional reasons the titles of the numbers in all three suites do not always correspond exactly to those in the complete ballet.

Sergei Prokofiev himself made the first recording of music from the ballet, with the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra 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 conducted the NBC Symphony Orchestra in a rare stereo recording in 1954. Gennady Rozhdestvensky and the Symphony Orchestra of the Bolshoi Theatre recorded the full score in 1959. André Previn with the London Symphony Orchestra and Lorin Maazel with the Cleveland Orchestra both made recordings of the complete score in 1973. Michael Tilson Thomas conducted the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra in 1995, in selections from the score, for RCA Victor. Georg Solti conducted the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in a recording coupled with the Classical Symphony. Valery Gergiev made two recordings, with the Kirov Orchestra in 1990 and with the London Symphony Orchestra in 2011.