The story behind Prokofiev’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’

Sergei Prokofiev was born in Sontzovka, in the Ukraine, on April 23, 1891, and died in Moscow on March 5, 1953. He composed the ballet “Romeo and Juliet” in 1935 and 1936, and compiled two orchestral suites in 1936 (he later added a third in 1946). The selections from the ballet “Romeo and Juliet” to be heard at Wednesday’s Aspen Concert Orchestra performance are drawn from the three suites and do not follow the order of the full ballet. But they provide a varied selection of passages representing the principal characters and situations depicted in the ballet. The Montagues and Capulets are, of course, the two feuding families of Romeo and Juliet, whose households erupt into street brawls at the slightest provocation. Although she is the heroine of one of the most famous love stories of all time, The Child Juliet depicts her... [read full story]