Prokofiev's original score for Romeo and Juliet was initially rejected as 'undanceable' by the Bolshoy Theatre, and his proposed happy ending for the lovers was vetoed in favor of Shakespeare's tragic conclusion.
Performer Biography
The National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, formerly the Ukrainian State Symphony Orchestra, was established in November 1918 by the Ukraine Council of Ministers.
Composer Biography
Prokofiev left Russia with official permission after the 1917 Revolution, unlike Stravinsky and Rachmaninov, with the intention of returning eventually.
Composer Biography
Sergey Prokofiev, the composer, was born in 1891 in Sontsovka, Ukraine, and began composing at the age of five, encouraged by his mother, an amateur pianist.
Notable Performances
The first production of Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet ballet was in December 1938 in Brno, the capital of Moravia, before it was danced at the Kirov thirteen months later.
Composition History
The idea for a ballet based on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet was suggested to Prokofiev in 1934 by Sergey Radlov, who was the artistic director of the Leningrad State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet.
Historical Context
Prokofiev settled back in Russia in 1936, just as the Soviet authorities began their official attacks on music that displeased them, such as Shostakovich's opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk District.
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