When 23-year-old Hector Berlioz saw Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” on stage for the first time in 1827, he was deeply moved by the experience, probably not least because of the Irish actress Harriet Smithson, who played Juliet. She became Berlioz’s wife in 1833, and another six years later he completed his chorus-symphony “Roméo et Juliette”, Op. 17. “Roméo et Juliette” is by no means intended as an attempt to transpose Shakespeare’s drama as faithfully as possible; not a single verse of Shakespeare’s text was included in the libretto, which was written by the poet Émile Deschamps based on Berlioz’s drafts. When the Prologue refers to Shakespeare as the only person who knew the highest secret of poetry, it is clear that the listener is deliberately placed in Berlioz’s perspective, whose imagination is ignited by Shakespeare’s genius. As in the case of the “Harold” symphony based on Byron, Berlioz adapts the original very freely. In both cases, he develops entire movements from episodes that are of only minor importance in the poem and adds scenes that do not appear there at all.

The present live recording from 1982 showcases Gary Bertini at the peak of his career, conducting the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra of the SWR. An exquisite cast of singers – Alfreda Hodgson (mezzo-soprano), Philip Langridge (tenor) and John Shirley-Quirk (baritone) – as well as internationally renowned choirs like the Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks and the SWR Vokalensemble (known until 1998 as Südfunk-Chor) accompany him in the performance of one of the most complex symphonic works of the Romantic era.