Romeo and Juliet Overture

Question 1

This work is called a “Concert Overture” but is often referred to as an _______________.

Answer 1

Overture-Fantasy

Question 2

What does this work have to do with Romeo and Juliet?

Answer 2

it beautifully translates specific characters and dramatic situations from the play into music.

Question 3

What hallmark elements of Tchaikovsky’s style can be found in this work?

Answer 3

elegiac lyricism, vivid orchestration, and pathos

Question 4

What is the genre?

Answer 4

Concert overture

Question 5

Date of premiere

Answer 5

1870

Question 6

Describe the Program and how the music portrays these events.

Answer 6

The music outlines in broad strokes the major characters and tensions in Shakespeare’s tragedy. The characters of Friar Laurence, Romeo and Juliet are each identified by their own themes. A recurring feud theme evokes the conflict between the Montagues and Capulets. Elsewhere, the music suggests the love shared by the “star-crossed lovers”, as well as their tragic deaths. Tchaikovsky captures the essential emotions of Shakespeare’s drama without trying to delineate specific plot developments.

Question 7

What is special about the second theme of the exposition?

Answer 7

It’s in ABA form, A is the Love theme and B is Juliet’s theme.