# Anybody familiar with Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies, theater-stage-dance\ **Created:** [July 29, 2024, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-familiar-with-prokofievs-romeo-and-juliet/1004937 "2024-07-29T08:15:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2024, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-familiar-with-prokofievs-romeo-and-juliet/1004937/1 "2024-07-29T08:15:05Z")
The ballet that is. The other night “Dance of the Knights” was used for part of the end titles music on a movie we saw. Knowing vaguely where it was from I got curious about the context and found [this snippet](https://youtu.be/SyDo3h1Tu7c) from the Royal Ballet which helps a little. It looks like it’s the ball where Romeo meets Juliet. There are two ranks, all Capulets(?) plus one in the middle (Prince Escalus?) Any help would be appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2024, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-familiar-with-prokofievs-romeo-and-juliet/1004937/2 "2024-07-29T09:01:35Z")
Sorry, all I know is that there’s a typo in the thread title, maybe a kind mod can fix it to ‘Prokofiev’ (to help with any future searches). ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2024, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-familiar-with-prokofievs-romeo-and-juliet/1004937/3 "2024-07-29T10:20:54Z")
> [@Dead\_Cat](#): > > all I know is that there’s a typo in the thread title Fixed. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2024, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-familiar-with-prokofievs-romeo-and-juliet/1004937/4 "2024-07-29T10:44:33Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > The other night “Dance of the Knights” was used for part of the end titles music on a movie we saw. So, this is the music you heard? and you want to know what part of the ballet it is? ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2024, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-familiar-with-prokofievs-romeo-and-juliet/1004937/5 "2024-07-29T16:55:33Z")
Can’t answer the OP’s question, but thought I drop off the ELP version they did on _Black Moon_: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/xN1ZxRMuMt4/hqdefault.jpg "ELP Romeo And Juliet") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xN1ZxRMuMt4) ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2024, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-familiar-with-prokofievs-romeo-and-juliet/1004937/6 "2024-07-30T06:40:13Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > So, this is the music you heard? and you want to know what part of the ballet it is? More or less. The [Wiki article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romeo_and_Juliet_(Prokofiev)#Structure) places it pretty firmly at the Capulets’ ball Romeo crashed in the middle of Scene 2. I was mainly wondering who was who. > [@Dead\_Cat](#): > > Sorry, all I know is that there’s a typo in the thread title > [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > Fixed. Oops. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Eric1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3bc359/32.png) [@Eric1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eric1)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2024, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-familiar-with-prokofievs-romeo-and-juliet/1004937/7 "2024-07-30T09:00:34Z")
I do love that part of the suite. I wonder what Prokofiev’s original composition sounded like before his backers made him change it. I guess they thought his ballet was too upbeat at the end? ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2024, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-familiar-with-prokofievs-romeo-and-juliet/1004937/8 "2024-07-30T11:03:21Z")
> [@Eric1](#): > > I guess they thought his ballet was too upbeat at the end? Not “upbeat”-- he changed it so Romeo & Juliet didn’t die, and the ballet companies wanted him to stick with Shakespeare’s ending. ---
**Author:** ![Moonrise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonrise/32/14764_2.png) [@Moonrise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonrise)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2024, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-familiar-with-prokofievs-romeo-and-juliet/1004937/9 "2024-07-30T11:31:27Z")
If I remember correctly, Romeo sneaks into the ball with a couple of friends, so most of the characters on stage are Capulets indeed. By the way, this is too good an occasion not to draw your attention to two other fantastic numbers in the ballet : 1. [Dance of the Girls with the Lilies](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8TY48it2XY) (with Prokofiev’s trademark sinuous melodies that are somehow immediately memorable despite the many unexpected accidentals) 2. [Juliet’s Funeral](https://youtu.be/wt8Z8uQFV14?si=ixrIpZrabX0d36lN&t=102) (a kind of slow-burn Dance of the Knights, check out the bombastic and yet moving passage at 2:05) All in all, this is one Prokofiev absolute masterpieces, which is saying something as he wrote so much amazing music. Melodies filled with weird twists and turns but still gorgeous and catchy as hell. One of those rare composers that you can identify within a few seconds. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2024, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-familiar-with-prokofievs-romeo-and-juliet/1004937/10 "2024-07-30T12:40:00Z")
The entire ballet, with Fonteyn and Nureyev dancing, is on Youtube [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/1LLUovLKbY4/hqdefault.jpg "Romeo And Juliet (1966 ballet) Rudolf Nureyev, Margot Fonteyn") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LLUovLKbY4) ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2024, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-familiar-with-prokofievs-romeo-and-juliet/1004937/11 "2024-07-30T21:15:44Z")
Okay, cool!