Shaking Up Shakespeare with Prokofiev's Romeo & Juliet
Balcony Scene
Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64, ballet in four acts
I'm Sergei Prokofiev, and in this track I'll explain the Balcony Scene from my ballet Romeo & Juliet. You'll hear the great love melody rise in the cellos, violas and violins, and it's worth your time because its longing already carries a faint shadow of the tragedy to come. Here on this site, my fellow composers and I teach you to recognize our music when you hear it, so take a turn at the Trainer .
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Lean In, It's a Quiet One
Before you press play, I'd ask you to listen for the quiet, because the Balcony Scene is one of the gentlest pieces I ever wrote. Follow the strings first, since they carry most of the feeling, and then listen for the flute, which stands out from them like a single voice in a still garden. Keep an ear out for the horns too, because three of them set up the accompaniment before the big melody arrives, and a chamber organ adds a soft glow underneath. You don't need any music theory for this, because if you can tell a high voice from a low one, you can follow the whole story.What's in a Name
I called it Balcony Scene for the simplest reason, which is that the balcony is exactly where Shakespeare puts his lovers right after they meet. In my ballet they meet at the Capulets' ball, and this scene is what closes the first act. I saw no reason to dress it up with a fancy title, since anyone who knows the play already knows the balcony and what is said there. I also liked that a plain name leaves the music to do the romantic work, so that you leave the first act sure these two will not part easily.Not a Textbook Form
Choosing the form was an adventure in itself, and in the end I let the scene follow the night rather than a textbook pattern. What I wrote is a nocturne, a night piece that feels like evening, and it unfolds as a chain of sections instead of a strict pattern. I count five of them: the hush of the night, the entrance of the two lovers, the great love theme, Romeo's variation and the love dance. I'll take them one at a time in the paragraphs that follow, so you'll always know where you are.Section 1: Lights Out in Verona
The scene opens with almost nothing, just a harp and violins played with mutes, which are small attachments that make the strings sound soft and a little distant. Together they paint a dark garden where no one has spoken yet, and the music seems to wait with you. I wanted the listener to feel the night before feeling anything else, because the lovers need that stillness around them. Nothing hurries here, so let yourself settle in.Section 2: Two Voices, One Garden
Now the two lovers arrive, Romeo in the strings and Juliet in the flute, and I gave each of them a voice that suits them. The strings sound warm and a little shy, while the flute is light and quick, as if Juliet is leaning over the railing to catch what he says. They don't sing at the same time but answer each other, like a conversation in which both are still choosing their words carefully. The mood here is tender curiosity, and it is the first moment in the scene when the music feels like two people instead of one night.Section 3: The Tune You'll Hum on the Way Home
This is the heart of the scene, and I prepared it with some patience, since three horns lay down the accompaniment before anything else happens. Then the cellos, violas and violins announce the love theme together, a big, broad melody that rises like a warm wave. It sounds like passionate longing, but listen closely, because I let a hint of the tragedy slip into it as well. Those two lovers will marry in secret in the next act, and the sadness inside this tune already seems to know how that story ends.Section 4: Romeo Takes the Floor
After the great theme comes Romeo's variation, which simply means that the music returns changed, as though he is now saying it in his own words. The mood grows a little more eager and personal, because a young man in love cannot stand still for long. If you recognize something from the previous section and notice that it has been bent and reshaped, you are hearing exactly what a variation is. I like this part because it lets one character step out of the shared glow and show who he is.Section 5: A Dance for Two
The final section is the love dance, and since this is a ballet, the music has to give the dancers something to move to. The glow of the whole scene stays, but the music now flows more freely, with a gentle sway instead of a quiet confession. Here the feeling is joy mixed with a kind of wonder, as if the two have just found out that happiness is possible. It is the right way to end the first act, because the audience goes away with this light in their minds, even though the feud is still waiting outside the garden.Over to You
Now it's your turn, so find a quiet spot, press play and let the music carry you into that Verona garden. As you listen, remember what we talked about: the hush of the night, the flute answering the strings, the three horns, the great love theme and the dance. You don't have to catch everything on the first try, and a second listening will always show you something new. I hope you enjoy walking through my Balcony Scene as much as I enjoyed building it.---
Did you enjoy this listen guide to Romeo & Juliet's Balcony Scene? I hope it gave you a few new things to listen for the next time the harp and the muted violins settle over that quiet night. When I look back at this music, what stays with me is how much of it is simply two people talking softly, with the strings and the flute doing the talking. That gentleness comes right at the end of Act 1, after all the noise of the feud and the ball, and I think it feels all the more precious for it. The score didn't have an easy start, since it was judged undanceable at first, and I later turned much of the music into orchestral suites. The complete ballet finally reached the stage in Leningrad in 1940, and people have been dancing to it ever since. There is a lot more to Romeo & Juliet than this one scene. The ballet follows the lovers all the way from the first meeting to the crypt, and each part has its own colors, its own surprises and its own way of breaking your heart. If you'd like to keep exploring, I invite you to click on the links provided and wander further into the story and the music. Take your time with it, and come back to the Balcony Scene whenever you want a quiet moment.