Romeo And Juliet Essay

The ballet Romeo and Juliet was composed by Sergei Prokofiev in Soviet Russia in late 1935. Adrian Piotrovsky and Sergey Radlov, Russian dramaturges, developed the synopsis for the ballet based on Shakespeare’s famous tragedy. The story follows Juliet, daughter of a Capulet, and Romeo, son of a Montague, falling madly in love despite all objections. In an effort to avoid an arranged marriage to another man, Juliet takes a potion to feign death. Romeo, not knowing about the trick, believes Juliet dead and poisons himself. When Juliet awakes from her potion-induced sleep, she sees a dead Romeo and proceeds to kill herself with a dagger. The production was advertised to the public as a “drambalet” (i.e. a dramatic ballet), as opposed to the primarily technical ballets that had been common at the time. The composition of Romeo and Juliet includes three musical suites and one long piano piece, resulting in a total of four acts. The principal roles within the ballet are, of course, Romeo and Juliet. Other notable roles include: The

At the Bolshoi, the show was quickly canceled by Stalin-era Soviet officials because of Prokofiev’s intention to alter the traditional Shakespearean tragedy by incorporating a new, happier ending. The Soviet government held strict reigns on all artists, fearing anything out of the norm that may provoke social unrest. Having hit a stopping point in Russia, the full premiere of Romeo and Juliet occurred in the Czech Republic at the Mahen Theatre, Brno in 1938. However, the ballet is primarily known by its completely reworked version (with the traditional tragic Shakespearean ending to appease government officials) presented back at the Kirov Ballet in 1940. That production, choreographed by Leonid Lavrovsky, featured leading dancers Konstantin Sergeyev and Galina