:00:00. > :00:00.William Shakespeare has been a huge influence on the musical
:00:07. > :00:09.world for centuries, and on no composer more so than
:00:10. > :00:12.Tonight, we'll be experiencing a monumental work that embodies
:00:13. > :00:45.his choral symphony, Romeo and Juliet.
:00:46. > :00:47.Hello, and a very warm welcome from me, Angel Blue,
:00:48. > :00:52.I'm absolutely delighted to be back at the Proms this summer,
:00:53. > :00:55.ready to enjoy some wonderful music that, as a singer, is very close
:00:56. > :01:00.The way Hector Berlioz wrote for the voice is extraordinary,
:01:01. > :01:04.Berlioz was a maverick in 19th century Parisian musical life.
:01:05. > :01:07.His compositions were seen as bewilderingly
:01:08. > :01:12.And tonight's work, Romeo and Juliet, is a perfect example
:01:13. > :01:16.of Berlioz at his most brilliant and imaginative.
:01:17. > :01:19.Inspired by his literary god, Shakespeare, it completely
:01:20. > :01:22.re-invented the idea of what a symphony could be.
:01:23. > :01:25.Berlioz loved Shakespeare, and there's no more loving
:01:26. > :01:28.conductor for this work than Sir John Eliot Gardiner,
:01:29. > :01:34.who will be on stage tonight with the Orchestre Revolutionnaire
:01:35. > :01:36.et Romantique, the Monteverdi Choir and the National Youth
:01:37. > :01:41.I was in rehearsals this afternoon, and I can tell you it is going to be
:01:42. > :01:46.And here is Sir John Eliot to tell us about the music we'll
:01:47. > :02:02.It is a mad piece but also unbelievably wonderful. It is
:02:03. > :02:09.Berlioz's third symphony, it came after the symphony Fontas speak, but
:02:10. > :02:15.it has the chorus and soloists. You think, where has it come from? The
:02:16. > :02:18.first answer, it couldn't have been possible without Beethoven's ninth
:02:19. > :02:23.symphony. It has a choral finale. But it is more complex and
:02:24. > :02:29.structurally bizarre. It has a prologue and he asks for the
:02:30. > :02:33.prologue to be sung by a tiny choir of 14 voices, accompanied by a heart
:02:34. > :02:41.and a fewer instruments. They tell the whole story. You think we are in
:02:42. > :02:45.an opera, but where is Juliet? They never appear. They do, but not as
:02:46. > :02:53.singers. They appear within the orchestra. The heart of Romeo and
:02:54. > :02:57.Juliet of Berlioz is the love scene, the famous balcony scene, and it
:02:58. > :03:03.seems that Berlioz initially wrote in the words for two soloists in the
:03:04. > :03:09.French translation and then he said, my orchestra have to sing, it's got
:03:10. > :03:17.to sound, so he takes out the singers and he leaves the words
:03:18. > :03:21.implicit in the cello's -- in the cello Coe and the fluent in French
:03:22. > :03:27.on for Juliet. You think, is that disappointing? Why not singers?
:03:28. > :03:31.Berlioz would say, I think an orchestra composed of instruments
:03:32. > :03:35.that I have chosen can be more expressive and say things that
:03:36. > :03:38.singers could never say with the same intensity. It is huge a
:03:39. > :46:49.manifesto for the power of the modern orchestra.
:46:50. > :46:56.That was Hector Berlioz's Symphonie Dramatique Romeo and Juliet.
:46:57. > :47:04.Simply overwhelming. Conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner.
:47:05. > :47:18.French-Canadian mezzo-soprano Julie Boulianne. The Orchestre
:47:19. > :47:22.Revolutionnaire et Romantique, leaders Kati Debretzeni. This
:47:23. > :47:40.orchestra was founded by Sir John Eliot Gardiner 1989.
:47:41. > :47:47.Our three fabulist soloists tonight, very engaging, truly emotional
:47:48. > :47:56.performances from all three of them. The Monteverdi Choir. And a very
:47:57. > :48:01.riveting performance from them tonight, showing us why they are one
:48:02. > :48:08.of the best choirs in the world. And the National Youth Choir of
:48:09. > :48:19.Scotland. The chorus master of the National youth, Christopher Bell.
:48:20. > :48:28.Followed by our assistant conductor this evening.
:48:29. > :48:31.And that's it for this evening's concert from the Royal Albert Hall.
:48:32. > :48:34.I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.
:48:35. > :48:36.There's more Proms action on Friday evening on BBC4 with the BBC
:48:37. > :48:39.Scottish Symphony Orchestra playing Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto