As Valentine's Day fast approaches, it is time to feel the love and put on Sergei Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64 for a spin. And since Ballet Philippines is staging the work next week, a recording of just the suites is not enough. So I present a fairly recent release of the complete ballet recording by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra conducted by Marin Alsop.
This ballet has always fascinated me since it is drastically different, stylistically and musically, from the ones that I am most familiar with like Giselle, Don Quixote, and The Nutcracker just to name a few. There is no typical Pas de deux in here with all the jumps and turns that the audience have come to expect. There are also no filler divertissements that showcase the dancers techniques but have nothing to do with the overall plot.
In Romeo and Juliet, every dance and movement advance the story and I could only imagine how people back then reacted to this concept of a narrative full-length ballet. Despite the different choreography in the previous productions and excerpts that I've seen, what is common is that there is an earthy, more grounded feel and a palpable sensuality to the dance and the music as well.
Further digging on the historical context of this music has left me astounded. Multiple hurdles greeted Sergei Prokofiev even before this ballet made its debut. Bear in mind that all this was happening in the Soviet Union under Josef Stalin when purges were common. The Bolshoi Theater's director getting arrested and then executed was just one of the problems that plagued this ballet.
Knowing all this gives me a deeper appreciation of the music that actually grows on me every time I listen to it. And it also hypes me up for the upcoming ballet production even though I know that I won't be seeing the usual fouettés in it.
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