Roméo et Juliette, Op. 17

Quick Facts

• “Symphonie dramatique avec chœurs” (Dramatic symphony with chorus)
• Seven sections/ movements organized into three parts:
  • Part 1
    • 1. Introduction. Combats – Tumult – Intervention of the Prince – Prologue – Strophes – Scherzetto
  • Part 2
    • 2. Romeo alone – Sadness – Distant sounds from the concert and the ball – Great banquet at the Capulets
    • 3. Love scene – Serene night – The Capulets’ garden silent and deserted – The young Capulets leaving the banquet singing snatches of music from the ball
    • 4. Queen Mab, the queen of dreams – the Queen Mab Scherzo
  • Part 3
    • 5. Funeral cortège for the young Juliet
    • 6. Romeo at the tomb of the Capulets – Invocation: Juliet awakes) – Delirious joy, despair – Last throes and death of the two lovers
    • 7. Finale
• Written & premiered in 1839
• Libretto is taken from poet Émile Deschamps’ translation of Shakespeare’s tragic play¹
• Dedicated to Niccolò Paganini – in 1838, Paganini gifted Berlioz 20,000 francs after hearing a performance of Harold en Italie.²

About the Piece

• Berlioz first because enamored with Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet after witnessing a performance of the work in Paris in 1827. In his memoirs, Berlioz wrote, “By the third act, [I was] scarcely able to breathe- it was as though an iron hand had gripped me by the heart….”
• Thanks to a generous gift of money from Paganini (see dedication note above), Berlioz was finally able to dedicate time to writing his work inspired by Shakespeare’s play in 1839.
• Rather than write an opera, Berlioz decided to portray the story through a “symphonie dramatique,” a massive choral symphony.
  • Interestingly, the vocalists and chorus in Berlioz’s work serve as either narration or minor characters. The two protagonists are portrayed solely by orchestra.³

1. “Roméo et Juliette, H 79 (Berlioz, Hector),” IMSLP, accessed July 30, 2024, https://imslp.org/wiki/Rom%C3%A9o_et_Juliette,_H_79_(Berlioz,_Hector).
2. Maureen Buja, “The Iron Hand Gripping His Heart, Interlude (2018), accessed July 30, 2024, https://interlude.hk/iron-hand-gripping-heart/.
3. Ibid.