Steibelt: Roméo et Juliette

A sleeping beauty awakened by the teams of the Palazzetto Bru Zane : a little-known version of the tragic history of the lovers of Verona, to (re)discover with relish. 

Daniel Steibelt – composer, teacher, virtuoso pianist, and avid traveler – had already written countless piano works before venturing into his very first opera, Roméo et Juliette. The librettist drastically adapted Shakespeare’s famous tragedy to suit late 18th-century French tastes, providing a happy ending: Romeo and Juliet are reunited at her bedside, the families reconcile, and the opera concludes with their marriage.

Musically, Steibelt was far ahead of his time, crafting a rich orchestration that gave brass instruments a leading role. This was unheard of at the time, yet today it sounds surprisingly modern – a musical idiom that Hector Berlioz deeply admired.