Prokofiev's ballet Romeo and Juliet was the most significant musical outcome of his decision to return to his native Russia in the mid-1930s after nearly seventeen years of exile.
Composition History
Prokofiev was invited to compose Romeo and Juliet for the Kirov Ballet in Leningrad at the end of 1934, after discussing various subjects including contemporary themes.
Composition History
Prokofiev drafted the entire ballet Romeo and Juliet in four months during the summer of 1935, concurrently with his Second Violin Concerto.
Compositional Technique
Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet was his first ballet where narrative was paramount, aiming to set Shakespeare's play to danceable music, unlike his previous ballets.
Interpretation
This recording plays all three of Prokofiev's suites from Romeo and Juliet, but arranges the movements in the order they appear in the original ballet to preserve the narrative.
Critical Reception
The premiere of Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet was delayed due to political climate; his reputation as a modernist and his years in the West made him an object of suspicion during Stalin's purges.
Composition History
The Russian premiere of Romeo and Juliet finally took place in 1940 at the Kirov in Leningrad, after much negotiation and compromise.
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