Reverie and Caprice for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 8

Composer: BERLIOZ, (Louis-) Hector
  • This is Berlioz’s Rêverie et caprice, romance, op. 8 (1841), an arrangement of an aria from his opera Benvenuto Cellini.
  • Berlioz composed Benvenuto Cellini in 1836-8. It was based on the colorful memoirs of Florentine Renaissance sculptor Benvenuto Cellini (1500-1571)
  • The opera was a commercial failure at the Paris Opéra in 1838: it was too unexpected and avant-garde for the company, who were used to the music of Meyerbeer. The Opéra never agreed to produce another Berlioz opera during his lifetime.
  • Berlioz created several instrumental works based on excerpts from Benvenuto Cellini as a way to use the material, including this piece for violin and orchestra.

Like “being stretched on the rack”

According to Berlioz, this is how he felt about the Paris Opéra’s treatment of him and his music. 1

Sources

  1. Hugh Macdonald, “Berlioz, (Louis-)Hector,” Grove Music Online (Oxford University Press, 2001), accessed July 25, 2019, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000051424.

Cut IDs

23875 40186 41821