is an

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

in two acts by Heinrich Sutermeister. The composer wrote the libretto, after Shakespeare's ''

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

''. Erik Levi explains that the opera: "presents a synthesis of Romantic and impressionist elements. It marks a ... return to the conception of opera as a sequence of closed forms, incorporating ... stylistic features related to madrigal, oratorio and pantomime."

Performance history

It was first performed on 13 April 1940, at the

Semperoper The Semperoper () is the opera house of the Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden (Saxon State Opera) and the concert hall of the Staatskapelle Dresden (Saxon State Orchestra). It is also home to the Semperoper Ballett. The building is located on the Th ...

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

, under the musical direction of Karl Böhm, who also commissioned the work, with Maria Cebotari as Julia, and was a considerable success. It was also performed at Sadler's Wells in London on 12 March 1953, conducted by James Robertson.

Roles

Synopsis

Sutermeister's version follows Shakespeare's plot. In the final scene, a celestial chorus celebrate the union in death of the two lovers.

Recordings

Sutermeister: ''Romeo und Julia'' – Bavarian Radio Chorus, Tölzer Knabenchor, Munich Radio Orchestra *Conductor:

Heinz Wallberg Heinz Wallberg (16 March 192329 September 2004) was a German conductor. Wallberg was born in Herringen, Westphalia. He studied trumpet, violin and piano. He helped to support his family with his musical training after his father became unabl ...

*Principal singers: Ferry Gruber, Raimund Grumbach, Nikolaus Hillebrand, Urszula Koszut, Hildegard Laurich, Theodor Nicolai, Adolf Dallapozza, Paul Hansen, Alexander Malta, Gudrun Wewezow, Joern W. Wilsing, Heinrich Weber, Anton Rosner *Recording date: 1980? *Label: Musiques Suisses – 6263 (2 CDs)

References

Sources

* * * * {{Authority control Operas by Heinrich Sutermeister German-language operas Operas 1929 operas Operas based on Romeo and Juliet