Search - Sergei Prokofiev, Charles Dutoit, Montréal Symphony Orchestra :: Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64 (excerpts)

Dynamic,powerful

Leander E. Parsons | 07/10/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"2 words two decribe this i sould say another underrated dutiot montreal performence,though i give it 4 stars mostly because of the sound witch is pretty good but nothing like some of there other ones.the performence excels on every level its way better then alot of other versions and better than tilson thomos somewhat overrated version,i wish dutiot played the entire ballet,dont pass this one up espesially if you are a prokoviev fan like me,the final number is beutifully played and famous dance of the knights is awsome and tybalts death too the playing is amazing"

Dutoit is elegant and gossamer light in this music

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 06/17/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It's almost always a good idea to have a French orchestra play Russian music, all the more when their elegance and pointed attack can be applied to Prokofiev. He lived in Paris for awhile before returning to Stalinist Russia. the ballet Romeo and Juliet was written for Russian ballets, but Soviet orchestras were too crude-sounding to do the score justice (with the exception of Mravinsky and his Leningrad band). In the post-Soviet era, Gergiev has emerged as a master of this score, but Dutoit is lighter, brighter, and faster on his feet. He wisely avoids the composer's two suites, which are arranged out of order, giving us instead the complete narrative of the ballet in 24 numbers selected from the total of fifty-two.



I know the complete versions from Gergiev (one from St. Petersburg and a remake from London), Previn, and Maazel, along with excerpts from Salonen, Abbado, Solti, and Mitropoulos, yet they all project a heavy seriousness absent here, perhaps because that was the Soviet style. Dutoit also avoids making this music serve as an orchestral showpiece; he's always connected to the tender story of very young lovers. Frankly, I never expected such gracefulness. Dutoit seems to be at his best in ballet generally. whatever accounts for the happy conjunction of stars, this is a splendid, very refreshing performance. Decca's recorded sound is luscious, and the Montreal orchestra plays with finesse.



(How strange that we never got recordings of this delightful music from Bernstein or Karajan, both superb conductors of Prokofiev.)"