Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet names of numbers. Ballet "Romeo and Juliet" by Sergei Prokofiev

The premiere of the “non-dance” ballet “Romeo and Juliet” to the music of Sergei Prokofiev in the USSR was postponed and banned for five years. It was first held on the stage of the Leningrad Opera and Ballet Theater named after Kirov (today the Mariinsky Theater) in 1940. Today, the ballet-symphony is staged on the most famous theater stages in the world, and individual works from it are performed at classical music concerts.

Classic plot and “non-dance” music

Leonid Lavrovsky. Photo: fb.ru

Sergei Prokofiev. Photo: classic-music.ru

Sergei Radlov. Photo: peoples.ru

Sergei Prokofiev, world-famous pianist and composer, participant in the Russian Seasons enterprise of Sergei Diaghilev, returned to the USSR in the 1930s after long tours abroad. At home, the composer decided to write a ballet based on William Shakespeare's tragedy Romeo and Juliet. Usually Prokofiev himself created the libretto for his works and tried to preserve the original plot as much as possible. However, this time, Shakespeare scholar and artistic director of the Kirov Leningrad Theater Sergei Radlov and Adrian Piotrovsky, a playwright and famous theater critic, took part in writing the libretto for Romeo and Juliet.

In 1935, Prokofiev, Radlov and Piotrovsky completed work on the ballet, and the management of the Kirov Theater approved the music for it. However, the ending of the musical work differed from Shakespeare's: in the finale of the ballet, the characters not only remained alive, but also maintained their romantic relationship. Such an attempt on a classic plot caused bewilderment among the censors. The authors rewrote the script, but the production was still banned - allegedly because of the “non-dance” music.

Soon, the Pravda newspaper published critical articles on two works by Dmitry Shostakovich - the opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk and the ballet The Bright Stream. One of the publications was called “Confusion Instead of Music,” and the second was called “Ballet Falsity.” After such devastating reviews from the official publication, the management of the Mariinsky Theater could not take risks. The premiere of the ballet could cause not just discontent on the part of the authorities, but real persecution.

Two high-profile premieres

Ballet "Romeo and Juliet". Juliet - Galina Ulanova, Romeo - Konstantin Sergeev. 1939 Photo: mariinsky.ru

On the eve of the premiere: Isaiah Sherman, Galina Ulanova, Peter Williams, Sergei Prokofiev, Leonid Lavrovsky, Konstantin Sergeev. January 10, 1940. Photo: mariinsky.ru

Ballet "Romeo and Juliet". The final. Leningrad State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater named after S.M. Kirov. 1940 Photo: mariinsky.ru

Culturologist Leonid Maksimenkov later wrote about Romeo and Juliet: “Censorship occurred at the highest level - from the principle of expediency: in 1936, 1938, 1953 and so on. The Kremlin has always proceeded from the question: is such a thing needed at the moment?” And in fact, the question of staging was raised almost every year, but in the 1930s the ballet was shelved every year.

Its premiere took place only three years after it was written - in December 1938. Not in Moscow or St. Petersburg, but in the Czechoslovak city of Brno. The ballet was choreographed by Ivo Psota, who also danced the role of Romeo. The role of Juliet was performed by the Czech dancer Zora Shemberova.

In Czechoslovakia, the performance to Prokofiev's music was a great success, but for another two years the ballet was banned in the USSR. The production of Romeo and Juliet was allowed only in 1940. Serious passions flared up around the ballet. Prokofiev's innovative "non-ballet" music evoked real resistance from artists and musicians. The former could not get used to the new rhythm, and the latter were so afraid of failure that they even refused to play at the premiere - two weeks before the performance. There was even a joke among the creative team: “There is no sadder story in the world than Prokofiev’s music in ballet”. Choreographer Leonid Lavrovsky asked Prokofiev to change the score. After discussions, the composer finally added several new dances and dramatic episodes. The new ballet was significantly different from the one staged in Brno.

Leonid Lavrovsky himself was seriously preparing for work. He studied Renaissance artists in the Hermitage and read medieval novels. The choreographer later recalled: “In creating the choreographic image of the performance, I proceeded from the idea of ​​contrasting the world of the Middle Ages with the world of the Renaissance, the collision of two systems of thinking, culture, and worldview.<...>Mercutio’s dances in the play were based on elements of folk dance... For the dance at the Capulet ball, I used the description of an authentic English dance of the 16th century, the so-called “Pillow Dance”.

The premiere of "Romeo and Juliet" in the USSR took place in Leningrad - on the stage of the Kirov Theater. The main roles were performed by the star ballet duo of the 1930s and 40s - Galina Ulanova and Konstantin Sergeev. The role of Juliet in Ulanova’s dance career is considered one of the best. The design of the performance corresponded to the high-profile premiere: the scenery for it was created by the famous theater designer Peter Williams. The ballet transported the viewer to the exquisite Renaissance era with antique furniture, tapestries, and dense expensive draperies. The production was awarded the Stalin Prize.

Productions of the Bolshoi Theater and foreign choreographers

Rehearsal of the ballet "Romeo and Juliet". Juliet - Galina Ulanova, Romeo - Yuri Zhdanov, Paris - Alexander Lapauri, chief choreographer - Leonid Lavrovsky. State Academic Bolshoi Theater. 1955 Photo: mariinsky.ru

Ballet "Romeo and Juliet". Juliet - Galina Ulanova, Romeo - Yuri Zhdanov. State Academic Bolshoi Theater. 1954 Photo: theatrehd.ru

Ballet "Romeo and Juliet". Juliet - Irina Kolpakova. Leningrad State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater named after S. M. Kirov. 1975 Photo: mariinsky.ru

The next production of Romeo and Juliet took place after the Great Patriotic War - in December 1946 at the Bolshoi Theater. Two years earlier, by decision of the Central Committee, Galina Ulanova moved to the Bolshoi, and ballet “moved” with her. In total, the ballet was danced more than 200 times on the stage of the country's main theater; the leading female part was performed by Raisa Struchkova, Marina Kondratyeva, Maya Plisetskaya and other famous ballerinas.

In 1954, director Leo Arnstam, together with Leonid Lavrovsky, shot the ballet film Romeo and Juliet, which received a prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Two years later, Moscow artists performed the ballet on tour in London and again created a sensation. Prokofiev's music was set to productions by foreign choreographers - Frederick Ashton, Kenneth MacMillan, Rudolf Nureyev, John Neumeier. The ballet was staged in the largest European theaters - Opera de Paris, Milan's La Scala, London's Royal Theater in Covent Garden.

In 1975, the play began to be staged again in Leningrad. In 1980, the ballet troupe of the Kirov Theater toured Europe, the USA and Canada.

The original version of the ballet - with a happy ending - was released in 2008. As a result of research by Professor Simon Morrison of Princeton University, the original libretto was made public. It was staged by choreographer Mark Morris for the Bard College Music Festival in New York. During the tour, the artists performed the ballet on theater stages in Berkeley, Norfolk, London and Chicago.

Works from Romeo and Juliet, which musicologist Givi Ordzhonikidze calls a ballet-symphony, are often performed at classical music concerts. The numbers “Juliet the Girl”, “Montagues and Capulets”, “Romeo and Juliet before Separation”, “Dance of the Antillean Girls” became popular and independent.

The first major work, the ballet Romeo and Juliet, became a true masterpiece. His stage life had a difficult start. It was written in 1935-1936. The libretto was developed by the composer together with director S. Radlov and choreographer L. Lavrovsky (L. Lavrovsky staged the first production of the ballet in 1940 at the Leningrad Opera and Ballet Theater named after S. M. Kirov). But the gradual adaptation to Prokofiev’s unusual music was still crowned with success. The ballet "Romeo and Juliet" was completed in 1936, but was conceived earlier. The fate of the ballet continued to develop complicatedly. At first there were difficulties in completing the ballet. Prokofiev, together with S. Radlov, while developing the script, thought about a happy ending, which caused a storm of indignation among Shakespeare scholars. The apparent disrespect for the great playwright was explained simply: “The reasons that pushed us to this barbarity were purely choreographic: living people can dance, dying people cannot dance lying down.” The decision to end the ballet tragically, like Shakespeare's, was influenced most of all by the fact that there was no pure joy in the music itself, in its final episodes. The problem was resolved after conversations with the choreographers, when it turned out that “it was possible to resolve the fatal ending balletically.” However, the Bolshoi Theater violated the agreement, considering the music non-danceable. For the second time, the Leningrad Choreographic School refused the agreement. As a result, the first production of Romeo and Juliet took place in 1938 in Czechoslovakia, in the city of Brno. The ballet was directed by the famous choreographer L. Lavrovsky. The role of Juliet was danced by the famous G. Ulanova.

Although there have been attempts in the past to present Shakespeare on the ballet stage (for example, in 1926, Diaghilev staged the ballet “Romeo and Juliet” with music by the English composer C. Lambert), but none of them is considered successful. It seemed that if Shakespeare’s images could be embodied in opera, as was done by Bellini, Gounod, Verdi, or in symphonic music, as in Tchaikovsky, then in ballet, due to its genre specificity, it was impossible. In this regard, Prokofiev’s turn to Shakespeare’s plot was a bold step. However, the traditions of Russian and Soviet ballet prepared this step.

The appearance of the ballet “Romeo and Juliet” constitutes an important turning point in the work of Sergei Prokofiev. The ballet "Romeo and Juliet" became one of the most significant achievements in the search for a new choreographic performance. Prokofiev strives to embody living human emotions and affirm realism. Prokofiev's music clearly reveals the main conflict of Shakespeare's tragedy - the clash of bright love with the family feud of the older generation, characterizing the savagery of the medieval way of life. The composer created a synthesis in ballet - a fusion of drama and music, just as Shakespeare in his time combined poetry with dramatic action in Romeo and Juliet. Prokofiev's music conveys the subtlest psychological movements of the human soul, the richness of Shakespeare's thought, the passion and drama of his first of the most perfect tragedies. Prokofiev managed to recreate Shakespearean characters in the ballet in their diversity and completeness, deep poetry and vitality. The poetry of love of Romeo and Juliet, the humor and mischief of Mercutio, the innocence of the Nurse, the wisdom of Pater Lorenzo, the fury and cruelty of Tybalt, the festive and riotous color of Italian streets, the tenderness of the morning dawn and the drama of death scenes - all this is embodied by Prokofiev with skill and enormous expressive power.

The specifics of the ballet genre required enlargement of the action and its concentration. Cutting off everything secondary or secondary in the tragedy, Prokofiev focused his attention on the central semantic moments: love and death; fatal enmity between two families of the Verona nobility - the Montagues and the Capulets, which led to the death of the lovers. Prokofiev’s “Romeo and Juliet” is a richly developed choreographic drama with complex motivations for psychological states and an abundance of clear musical portraits and characteristics. The libretto concisely and convincingly shows the basis of Shakespeare's tragedy. It preserves the main sequence of scenes (only a few scenes are shortened - 5 acts of the tragedy are grouped into 3 large acts).

"Romeo and Juliet" is a deeply innovative ballet. Its novelty is also manifested in the principles of symphonic development. The symphonized dramaturgy of the ballet contains three different types.

The first is a conflictual opposition between the themes of good and evil. All heroes - bearers of good are shown in a diverse and multifaceted way. The composer presents evil in a more general way, bringing the themes of enmity closer to the themes of rock of the 19th century, and to some themes of evil of the 20th century. Themes of evil appear in all acts except the epilogue. They invade the world of heroes and do not develop.

The second type of symphonic development is associated with the gradual transformation of the images - Mercutio and Juliet, with the disclosure of the psychological states of the heroes and the demonstration of the internal growth of the images.

The third type reveals features of variation, variation, characteristic of Prokofiev’s symphony as a whole; it especially touches on lyrical themes.

All three named types in ballet are also subject to the principles of film editing, a special rhythm of frame action, techniques of close-up, medium and long shots, techniques of “dissolves”, sharp contrasting oppositions that give scenes a special meaning.

Among the best Soviet ballets that adorn the stage of the State Academic Bolshoi Theater of the USSR, one of the first places is rightfully occupied by the ballet “Romeo and Juliet” by S. Prokofiev. He invariably captivates viewers with his high poetry and genuine humanism, a bright, truthful embodiment of human feelings and thoughts. The ballet premiered in 1940 at the Leningrad Opera and Ballet Theater named after S. M. Kirov. In 1946, this performance was transferred, with some changes, to the stage of the Bolshoi Theater of the USSR.

The ballet “Romeo and Juliet” (libretto by S. Prokofiev and L. Lavrovsky after Shakespeare) staged by choreographer L. Lavrovsky is one of the most significant milestones on the path of the Soviet ballet theater to realism. The requirements of high ideology and realism, common to all Soviet art, determined the approach of Prokofiev and Lavrovsky to the embodiment of the deep ideological concept of Shakespeare's immortal tragedy. In the lively reproduction of Shakespeare's characters, the authors of the ballet sought to reveal the main idea of ​​the tragedy: the clash between the dark forces nurtured by the Middle Ages, on the one hand, and the feelings, ideas and moods of the people of the early Renaissance, on the other. Romeo and Juliet live in a harsh world of cruel medieval morals. A feud that passes from generation to generation divides their ancient patrician families. Under these conditions, the love of Romeo and Juliet was supposed to be tragic for them. Challenging the prejudices of the moribund Middle Ages, Romeo and Juliet died in the struggle for personal freedom and freedom of feeling. With their death, they seemed to confirm the triumph of the humanistic ideas of a new era, the dawn of which was flaring up more and more brightly. Light lyricism, mournful pathos, amusing buffoonery - everything that makes Shakespeare's tragedy live - finds a bright and characteristic embodiment in the music and choreography of the ballet.

The viewer comes to life with inspired scenes of the love of Romeo and Juliet, pictures of everyday life and the cruel, inert morals of the Verona aristocracy, episodes of the vibrant street life of the Italian city, where casual fun gives way to bloody fights and funeral processions. The forces of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance are figuratively and artistically convincingly contrasted in the ballet music. The sharp, ominous sounds evoke the idea of ​​gloomy medieval customs that mercilessly suppressed the human personality and its desire for freedom. Episodes of the clash between warring families - the Montagues and the Capulets - are based on such music; it characterizes typical representatives of the medieval world - arrogant and evil Tybalt, soulless and cruel Signor and Signora Capulet. The heralds of the Renaissance are portrayed differently. The rich emotional world of Romeo and Juliet is revealed in bright, excited, melodious music.

The image of Juliet is most fully and attractively captured in Prokofiev's music. The carefree and playful girl, as we see her at the beginning of the ballet, shows true selflessness and heroism when, in the struggle for loyalty to her feelings, she rebels against absurd prejudices. The musical development of the image goes from the expression of childish spontaneous fun to the most tender lyrics and deep drama. The character of Romeo is outlined more succinctly in the music. Two contrasting themes - lyrical-contemplative and excitedly passionate - depict the transformation of Romeo, under the influence of love for Juliet, from a melancholic dreamer into a courageous, purposeful person. The composer also vividly depicts other representatives of the new era. In the witty music, full of cheerful, somewhat rough humor, and sometimes sharp sarcasm, the character of Mercutio, a cheerful merry fellow and joker, is revealed.

The musical portrait of Father Lorenzo, a philosopher and humanist, is very expressive. Wise simplicity and calm poise are combined in him with great warmth and humanity. The music that characterizes Lorenzo plays a significant role in creating the general atmosphere that permeates the ballet - an atmosphere of humanity and emotional fullness. Truthfully embodying the content of Shakespeare's tragedy, Prokofiev interprets it in a unique way, which is explained by the peculiarities of his creative individuality.

Ballet in three acts with prologue and epilogue

Libretto by L. Lavrovsky, A. Piotrovsky, S. Radlov and S. Prokofiev based on the tragedy of the same name by W. Shakespeare.
Choreographer L. Lavrovsky.
First performance: Leningrad, Opera and Ballet Theater. S. M. Kirov, January 11, 1940
Characters:
Escalus, Duke of Verona. Paris, a young nobleman, Juliet's fiancé. Capulet. Capulet's wife. Juliet, their daughter. Tybalt, Capulet's nephew. Juliet's nurse.
Montagues. Montague's wife. Romeo, their son. Mercutio and Benvolio, friends of Romeo. Lorenzo, monk.

Samsone, Gregorio, Pietro - servants of the Capulet. Abramio, Balthazar - servants of Montague. Paris's page. Page Romeo. Juliet's friends.
The owner of the zucchini. Maids. Beggars. Troubadour. Jester.
A young man in battle. Greengrocer. Townspeople.

In the middle of the orchestral introduction, the curtain opens, revealing to the audience a three-piece triptych picture: on the right is Romeo, on the left is Juliet, in the center is Lorenzo. This is the epigraph to the play.

Verona in the early morning. The city is still dormant. Romeo alone can't sleep. He wanders aimlessly through the deserted streets, immersed in dreams of love.
The streets gradually come to life, early passers-by appear. Stretching lazily and having difficulty losing sleep, the inn's maids clear the tables.
The servants Gregorio, Samsone and Pietro leave the Capulet house. They make nice with the maids and start dancing. On the other side of the square, Balthazar and Abramio come out of Montague's house.
Servants of two warring families glance sideways at each other, looking for a reason to quarrel. Stinging jokes turn into bickering, someone pushes someone and a fight breaks out. The weapon is drawn. One of the servants is wounded. Benvolio, Montague's nephew, separates the fighters and orders everyone to disperse. The servants, grumbling dissatisfiedly, obey.
And here comes Tybalt, Capulet's nephew. An adventurer and a bully, he is just waiting for the chance to fight the hated Montagues. Happening
introduced himself. The battle begins. The Montagues and Capulets run out of their houses in response to the noise. The fight is heating up. The whole city was in motion. Heavy sounds of the alarm sound. The Duke of Verona appears. With the movement of his sword, he gives a sign to lay down his weapon. From now on, the Duke announces, anyone who starts a fight with a weapon in their hands will be executed. The people, satisfied with the Duke's order, disperse.

Juliet's room. The naughty Juliet cheerfully teases her nurse, throws pillows at her, runs away from her, and she, clumsily waddling, tries to catch her.
The merry fuss is interrupted by Juliet's mother. Gradually and sternly, she tells her daughter to stop playing pranks: after all, Juliet is already a bride. This one asks for her hand
a worthy young man, like Paris. Juliet laughs in response. Then the mother solemnly brings her daughter to the mirror. Juliet can see for herself - she is quite an adult.
A ball has been announced at the Capulet palace. The nobility of Verona in festive clothes goes to the celebration. Accompanied by singers and musicians, they go to
ball of Juliet's friend and Paris with his page. Mercutio runs by, talking animatedly and laughing. He is dissatisfied with Romeo, he does not understand his sadness. AND
Romeo himself cannot figure out what is happening to him. He is tormented by ominous forebodings.
The action moves to the hall of the Capulet house. Solemnly seated at the tables, the guests conduct a decorous conversation. The dancing begins. The guests ask Juliet to dance. She agrees. Juliet's dance reveals her purity, charm, and poetry. Romeo, who entered the hall, is unable to take his eyes off her.
Wearing a hilarious mask, Mercutio amuses the guests to tears. Taking advantage of the fact that Mercutio has captured everyone's attention, Romeo approaches Juliet and
excitedly tells her about the feeling that has arisen in him. The mask accidentally falls off Romeo's face. Juliet is amazed by Romeo's beauty and nobility. IN
Juliet's heart was also kindled with love.
Tybalt, an involuntary witness to this scene, recognized Romeo. Putting on the mask, Romeo disappears. When the guests leave, the nurse tells Juliet that Romeo belongs to the Montague clan. But nothing can stop Romeo Juliet.

On a moonlit night they meet in the garden. Juliet is completely at the mercy of the feeling that flared up for the first time. Unable to bear even the shortest separation from her beloved, Juliet sends Romeo a letter, which the nurse should give to him. In search of Romeo, the nurse and her accompanying Pietro find themselves in the thick of the carnival fun.
Hundreds of townspeople dance, sing, and frolic in the square. A procession carrying a statue of the Madonna appears to the sounds of an orchestra.
Some mischievous people tease the nurse, but she is busy with one thing - looking for Romeo. And here he is. The letter was delivered. Romeo reverently reads Juliet's message.
She agrees to become his wife.
Romeo comes to Father Lorenzo's cell. He tells Lorenzo about his love for Juliet and asks him to marry them. Touched by the purity and strength of feelings
Romeo and Juliet, Lorenzo agrees. And when Juliet enters the cell, Lorenzo blesses their union.
And in the squares of Verona the carnival is noisy and sparkling. Among the merry Veronese, Romeo's friends are Mercutio and Benvolio. Seeing Mercutio, Tybalt
starts a quarrel and challenges him to a duel. Romeo, who arrived at this time, tries to calm the quarrels, but Tybalt mocks Romeo, calling
him a coward. And when Romeo withdraws Mercutio's sword to prevent bloodshed, Tybalt deals Mercutio a fatal blow. Overcoming
pain, Mercutio tries to joke; he dances, but his movements weaken and he falls dead.
Not remembering himself from grief, avenging his beloved friend, Romeo enters into battle with Tybalt and kills him.
Juliet's mother runs out of the Capulet house. She calls for revenge. Benvolio takes Romeo away, who must immediately escape. At night, Romeo
secretly sneaks into Juliet's room to see her beloved before separation... Dawn is approaching. Lovers say goodbye for a long time. Finally Romeo
leaves.
Morning. The nurse enters, followed by Juliet's parents. They report that the day of her wedding with Paris has been set. Juliet begs her mother and father
to spare her, not to force her into a union she hates with someone she doesn’t love. The will of the parents is adamant. The father raises his hand to Juliet. She's desperate
runs to Lorenzo. He gives Juliet a potion, after drinking which she will fall into a deep sleep, similar to death. Only Romeo will know
the truth. He will return for her and take her away secretly from the open crypt. Juliet happily accepts Lorenzo's plan.
Returning home and pretending to be submissive, she agrees to marry Paris. Left alone, Juliet drinks the drug. When in the morning
Friends come to dress her for the wedding; they find the bride dead. The news of Juliet's death reaches Mantua, where Romeo fled.
Overcome with grief, he hurries to Verona.
The funeral cortege is moving. Juliet rests in an open coffin. The coffin is placed in the family tomb. Everyone leaves.
Night. Romeo runs into the cemetery. He falls to the tomb, says goodbye to Juliet and drinks poison.
Juliet wakes up. Consciousness and memory do not immediately return to her. But when she sees herself in the cemetery, she remembers everything. Her gaze falls on Romeo.
She rushes towards him. Saying goodbye to him, saying goodbye to life, Juliet stabs herself with Romeo's dagger.
Old men Montagues and Capulets approach the grave. They look in horror at the dead children. Then they stretch out their hands to each other and swear in the name of life, in
the memory of two beautiful creatures will forever end the feud.

Instructions

Although composers and musicians began to turn to the love story of Romeo and Juliet back in the 18th century, the first famous work based on Shakespeare’s tragedy was written in 1830. It was Vincenzo Bellini's opera "Capulets and the Montagues". It is not at all surprising that the Italian composer was attracted by the story that took place in Verona, Italy. True, Bellini somewhat departed from the plot of the play: Juliet’s brother dies at the hands of Romeo, and Tybalt, named Tybaldo in the opera, is not a relative, but the girl’s fiancé. It is interesting that Bellini himself at that time was in love with the opera diva Giuditta Grisi and wrote the role of Romeo for her mezzo-soprano.

In the same year, the French rebel and romantic Hector Berlioz attended one of the opera performances. However, the calm sound of Bellini's music caused him deep disappointment. In 1839, he wrote his Romeo and Juliet, a dramatic symphony with lyrics by Emile Deschamps. In the 20th century, many ballet performances were staged to Berlioz's music. The ballet “Romeo and Julia” with choreography by Maurice Bejart received the greatest fame.

In 1867, the famous opera “Romeo and Juliet” by the French composer Charles Gounod was created. Although this work is often ironically called “a complete love duet,” it is considered the best operatic version of Shakespeare’s tragedy and is still performed on the stages of opera houses around the world.

Among those few listeners for whom Gounod's opera did not cause much delight was Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. In 1869, he wrote his work on a Shakespearean plot, it became the fantasy “Romeo and Juliet”. The tragedy captured the composer so much that at the end of his life he decided to write a great opera based on it, but, unfortunately, he did not have time to realize his grandiose plan. In 1942, the outstanding choreographer Serge Lifar staged a ballet to the music of Tchaikovsky.

However, the most famous ballet based on the plot of Romeo and Juliet was written in 1932 by Sergei Prokofiev. His music at first seemed “undanceable” to many, but over time Prokofiev managed to prove the viability of his work. Since then, the ballet has gained enormous popularity and, to this day, does not leave the stage of the best theaters in the world.

On September 26, 1957, the premiere of Leonard Bernstein's musical West Side Story took place on the stage of one of the Broadway theaters. Its action takes place in modern New York, and the happiness of the heroes, “Native American” Tony and Puerto Rican Maria, is ruined by racial hostility. However, all the plot moves of the musical very accurately repeat the Shakespearean tragedy.

The music of the Italian composer Nino Rota, written for the 1968 film by Franco Zeffirelli, became a kind of musical calling card of “Romeo and Juliet” in the 20th century. It was this film that inspired the modern French composer Gerard Presgurvic to create the musical Romeo and Juliet, which has gained enormous popularity, which is also well known in the Russian version.